Photo: Classicarchetype2 · CC BY 3.0Making a living in Spiceland
Commuters spend 32 minutes getting to work on average, next to 24 for Indiana and 26 for the U.S. Home is the office for 2% of workers, where Indiana as a whole has 11%. Only 4% stay in Spiceland for work; outside it, Indianapolis is the main destination (12%, 38 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Spiceland: the gist
Spiceland’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Spiceland is Indianapolis, 39 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (37) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Spiceland workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Spiceland workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 317 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Short hops and long hauls from Spiceland
About 15% 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.
About 32 minutes each way for Spiceland’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spiceland workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 393 commuters (the 2% 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.
Who works in Spiceland, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 303 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 227 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Spiceland’s residents
Where Spiceland clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
What the 241 jobs in Spiceland are
241 jobs are based in Spiceland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spiceland, 2013 → 2023: 68 → 241. 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 Spiceland’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 Spiceland: questions
What is the median household income in Spiceland?
$65,875 (±$16,981) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spiceland?
22.2%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spiceland?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spiceland work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indianapolis (12%, 38 mi), New Castle (9%, 6 mi), Spiceland Township (8%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Spiceland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spiceland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spiceland
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.