Households in Shelby Township have lower incomes than those in 78% of U.S. towns
11.9% of residents live below the poverty line (Indiana 12.3%). The two grades for Shelby Township are C− for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Only 2% stay in Shelby Township for work; outside it, Madison is the main destination (34%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Shelby Township at work: what stands out
Shelby Township and Madison trade workers both ways
Madison is the top workplace for Shelby Township residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Shelby Township come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Shelby Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 498 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Shelby Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Shelby Township is better than 17% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Shelby Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Shelby Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Shelby Township could be anywhere from D− to A−.
The towns that employ Shelby Township’s residents
Where Shelby Township clocks in
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The trip to work from Shelby Township: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shelby Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 371 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Shelby Township on a workday
On a workday 489 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 283 people come in from elsewhere.
About 930 people are in Shelby Township on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.59 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
92% of the jobs in Shelby Township pay over $3,333 a month
292 jobs are based in Shelby Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shelby Township, 2013 → 2023: 45 → 292. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shelby Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Shelby Township
About 28% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Shelby Township walk, bike or ride to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 393 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.0% of Shelby Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shelby Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Shelby Township is 2,714th among 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Ogden Dunes IN | 1,163 | $117K | 3.9% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Campbell Township IN | 1,172 | $122K | 0.0% | 7.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Greenville IN | 1,452 | $135K | 5.6% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,712 | Athens WI | 1,190 | $53K | 14.6% | 2.3% | 9% | C− |
| 2,713 | Newcastle Township IN | 1,368 | $49K | 11.7% | 5.8% | 1% | C− |
| 2,714 | Shelby Township IN | 1,134 | $58K | 11.9% | 0.0% | 2% | C− |
| 2,715 | Center Township KS | 1,325 | $65K | 11.3% | 0.1% | 42% | C− |
| 2,716 | DeLand Southwest FL | 1,024 | $43K | 45.2% | 0.0% | 0% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Shelby Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Shelby Township and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Madison Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shelby Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby Township | – | C− | D− | 37 min | $57,500 |
| Monroe Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Milton Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Madison Township | 8% | C | B− | 20 min | $61,237 |
| Pleasant Township | under 2% | C− | D− | 37 min | $105,400 |
| Brown Township | under 2% | B | C+ | 24 min | $105,208 |
Same-state neighbors only. Monroe Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Milton Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shelby Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Shelby Township: questions
What is the median household income in Shelby Township?
$57,500 (±$55,746) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shelby Township?
11.9%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shelby Township?
37 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shelby Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (34%, 10 mi), Madison Township (8%, 8 mi), Indianapolis (5%, 78 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shelby Township walkable?
Shelby Township is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shelby Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shelby Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shelby Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.