Photo: NASA · Public domainSimonton Lake has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute takes 20 minutes each way, where Indiana has 24 and the U.S. 26. 299 jobs are based in Simonton Lake; 2,227 of its residents have a job. Simonton Lake grades B+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Simonton Lake and work: the main findings
Simonton Lake is a place people come home to
There are 299 jobs based in Simonton Lake, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Simonton Lake has about 2,300 people in it, 45% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
41% of Simonton Lake works in Elkhart
924 working residents, 41%, have their main job in Elkhart, 4.3 miles away across the town line. That’s 41 times as many as work in Simonton Lake itself. The commute map ↓
Most Simonton Lake residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
Inside Simonton Lake’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Simonton Lake is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #173 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Simonton Lake’s grade up (1.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Simonton Lake could be anywhere from C+ to A.
How many people are in Simonton Lake by day
On a workday 2,212 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 284 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Simonton Lake on a workday afternoon, 45% 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.
41% of working residents work in Elkhart
Where Simonton Lake clocks in
41% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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.
Where in the region Simonton Lake works
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 kinds of work in Simonton Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Simonton Lake, 2013 → 2023: 227 → 299. 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 Simonton Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Simonton Lake: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Simonton Lake workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,860 commuters (the 9% 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.
Most trips from Simonton Lake start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Simonton Lake is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #332 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,035 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). 0.4% of Simonton Lake households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Simonton Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,208th of 3,962: where Simonton Lake ranks among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Clark Township IN | 3,026 | $138K | 5.2% | 0.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Milan Township IN | 4,066 | $120K | 1.3% | 0.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 135 | Georgetown IN | 3,855 | $113K | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,206 | Ohioville PA | 3,317 | $81K | 6.5% | 2.8% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,207 | Montgomery GA | 4,976 | $91K | 12.0% | 2.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,208 | Simonton Lake IN | 4,248 | $76K | 11.5% | 1.7% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,209 | Peppermill Village MD | 5,238 | $86K | 8.1% | 5.4% | <1% | B+ |
| 1,210 | Clifton AZ | 3,752 | $78K | 2.5% | 0.8% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Simonton Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Next door is work for 41% of Simonton Lake
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Simonton Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simonton Lake | – | B+ | C+ | 20 min | $75,673 |
| Elkhart | 41% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $51,028 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Elkhart. Darker towns draw more of Simonton Lake’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 Simonton Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Simonton Lake?
$75,673 (±$18,984) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Simonton Lake?
11.5%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Simonton Lake?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Simonton Lake work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elkhart (41%, 4 mi), Mishawaka (7%, 11 mi), South Bend (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Simonton Lake walkable?
Simonton Lake is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Simonton Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Simonton Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Simonton Lake
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.