With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Trail Creek works elsewhere
For jobs and income Trail Creek is better than 54% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (B−). Trail Creek has 170 jobs, against 914 working residents. A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes; Indiana averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Trail Creek, in a few figures
Trail Creek and Michigan City trade workers both ways
Michigan City is the top workplace for Trail Creek residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Trail Creek come from (27% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Trail Creek is a place people come home to
There are 170 jobs based in Trail Creek, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Trail Creek has about 1,200 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; with 914 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Trail Creek
The poverty rate holds Trail Creek’s grade up (6.6%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (6.8%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Trail Creek could be anywhere from C to A.
30% of working residents work in Michigan City
Where Trail Creek clocks in
10% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Trail Creek
On a workday 910 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 166 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Trail Creek on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
Jobs in Trail Creek: what the 170 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Trail Creek, 2014 → 2024: 153 → 170. 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 Trail Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes to work from Trail Creek
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Trail Creek workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 876 commuters (the 11% 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 Trail Creek commutes
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.
Trail Creek is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 987 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 3% 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). 1.1% of Trail Creek households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Trail Creek’s commuters take a bus or train.
Trail Creek is 1,989th of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 169 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,987 | Lubeck WV | 1,495 | $71K | 5.1% | 9.7% | 1% | B− |
| 1,988 | Mackinaw IL | 1,851 | $67K | 8.2% | 2.8% | 9% | B− |
| 1,989 | Trail Creek IN | 1,987 | $78K | 6.6% | 6.8% | <1% | B− |
| 1,990 | Upper Frankford Township PA | 2,309 | $78K | 10.9% | 3.6% | 1% | B− |
| 1,991 | Kodiak Station AK | 1,823 | $84K | 3.2% | 0.0% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Trail Creek, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
The towns next door employ 30% of Trail Creek
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Trail Creek workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Creek | – | B− | B− | 22 min | $77,635 |
| Michigan City | 30% | C− | B+ | 21 min | $53,089 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Michigan City. Darker towns draw more of Trail Creek’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 Trail Creek: questions
What is the median household income in Trail Creek?
$77,635 (±$11,548) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Trail Creek?
6.6%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Trail Creek?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Trail Creek work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Michigan City (30%, 1 mi), La Porte (10%, 9 mi), Coolspring Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Trail Creek walkable?
Trail Creek is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Trail Creek without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Trail Creek, from the people who make the trip.
More of Trail Creek
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.