Most of South Haven commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Jobs and income earn South Haven B−; getting around on foot earns it C−. South Haven has 436 jobs, and 3,310 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in South Haven itself; outside it, Portage draws the most (13%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in South Haven, in a few figures
Many jobs in South Haven pay little
37% of the jobs based in South Haven pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 37% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
South Haven is a place people come home to
There are 436 jobs based in South Haven, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday South Haven has about 4,400 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside South Haven
58% of South Haven residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 30% of the jobs based in South Haven pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where South Haven’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, South Haven is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #337 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds South Haven’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, South Haven could be anywhere from C to A−.
South Haven is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Haven, 2014 → 2024: 460 → 436. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in South Haven by day
On a workday 3,250 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 376 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in South Haven on a workday afternoon, 40% 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 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ South Haven’s residents
Where South Haven clocks in
13% of workers
12% 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.
About 25 minutes to work from South Haven
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Haven workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,365 commuters (the 5% 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.
Half of South Haven commutes less than 11 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of South Haven commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Haven is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns, #427 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 3,529 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.7% of South Haven households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of South Haven’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,849th of 3,122: where South Haven ranks among U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Worth Township IN | 6,688 | $123K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | New Whiteland IN | 5,937 | $90K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Muleshoe TX | 5,162 | $69K | 10.6% | 0.0% | 27% | B− |
| 1,848 | Interlaken CA | 8,068 | $109K | 14.9% | 5.7% | 5% | B− |
| 1,849 | South Haven IN | 7,241 | $76K | 12.7% | 5.5% | 2% | B− |
| 1,850 | Porter IN | 5,167 | $75K | 10.5% | 6.5% | 8% | B− |
| 1,851 | Waveland MS | 7,042 | $69K | 10.8% | 3.4% | 9% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,122 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 South Haven, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Work in the towns next to South Haven
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Haven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Haven | – | B− | C− | 25 min | $76,003 |
| Wheeler | under 4% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wheeler: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Haven’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 2024, 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 South Haven: questions
What is the median household income in South Haven?
$76,003 (±$7,564) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Haven?
12.7%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Haven?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Haven work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portage (13%, 4 mi), Valparaiso (12%, 6 mi), Gary (7%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is South Haven walkable?
South Haven is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Haven without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Haven, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Haven
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.