Photo: Theonlyphelps · Public domainTrafalgar at work: jobs, income and the commute
Only 6% work in Trafalgar itself; outside it, Indianapolis draws the most (31%, 25 miles). Trafalgar grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. The trip to work takes 32 minutes on average; Indiana averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Trafalgar, in a few figures
31% of Trafalgar works in Indianapolis
199 working residents, 31%, have their main job in Indianapolis, 25 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Trafalgar itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Trafalgar
67% of Trafalgar residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Trafalgar pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Trafalgar pay little
30% of the jobs based in Trafalgar pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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 645 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Trafalgar’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, Trafalgar is better than 76% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (5.1%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($77,885, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (4.3%) is left out: Trafalgar’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Trafalgar could be anywhere from B− to A.
Commuting out of Trafalgar: the destinations
Where Trafalgar clocks in
31% of workers
15% of workers
4% 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.
Most jobs in Trafalgar are in services
616 jobs are based in Trafalgar.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Trafalgar, 2013 → 2023: 623 → 616. 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 Trafalgar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Trafalgar
On a workday 606 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 577 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 (0.96 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.
Each way, about 32 minutes from Trafalgar
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Trafalgar workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 579 commuters (the 14% 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.
How many miles Trafalgar 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.
Getting around Trafalgar: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Trafalgar is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Trafalgar near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 670 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). 9.7% of Trafalgar households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Trafalgar’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200, Trafalgar ranks 788th of 5,381 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 786 | Lake Mohawk OH | 1,409 | $75K | 1.3% | 10.4% | 2% | A− |
| 787 | Stansberry Lake WA | 1,807 | $91K | 1.8% | 4.9% | <1% | A− |
| 788 | Trafalgar IN | 1,658 | $78K | 5.1% | 4.3% | 6% | A− |
| 789 | Toquerville UT | 1,999 | $98K | 3.5% | 2.3% | 1% | A− |
| 790 | Friends Creek Township IL | 1,313 | $90K | 3.5% | 3.2% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Trafalgar, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
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 Trafalgar: questions
What is the median household income in Trafalgar?
$77,885 (±$16,405) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Trafalgar?
5.1%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Trafalgar?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Trafalgar work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Indianapolis (31%, 25 mi), Franklin (15%, 8 mi), Greenwood (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Trafalgar walkable?
Trafalgar is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Trafalgar without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Trafalgar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Trafalgar
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.