Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainShirley has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
For 4% of workers, the job is at home; Indiana has 11%. Employers in Shirley report 74 jobs, and 352 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Shirley for work; outside it, Indianapolis is the main destination (26%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Shirley in brief
Shirley’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Shirley is Indianapolis, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 26% of working residents (91) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Shirley is a place people come home to
There are 74 jobs based in Shirley, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Shirley has about 570 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Shirley workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 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 352 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many miles Shirley commutes
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Shirley
On a workday 349 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 71 people come in from elsewhere.
About 570 people are in Shirley on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Shirley’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shirley workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 437 commuters (the 4% 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.
Where people from Shirley work
Where Shirley clocks in
26% of workers
12% of workers
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.
53% of the jobs in Shirley make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shirley, 2013 → 2023: 37 → 74. 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 Shirley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Shirley: questions
What is the median household income in Shirley?
$67,083 (±$29,296) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shirley?
9.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shirley?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shirley work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indianapolis (26%, 31 mi), Greenfield (12%, 12 mi), Carmel (5%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Shirley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shirley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shirley
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.