Fewer people are out of work in Union Township (1.7%) than in 88% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 55% of U.S. towns. Union Township grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Home is the office for 4% of workers (Indiana 11%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Union Township apart on work
Union Township trades workers with the towns around it
Union Township has about as many jobs (2,847) as working residents (2,723), but they are mostly different people: 2,366 residents leave for work each day while 2,490 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Union Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Union Township makes and builds things
48% of the jobs based in Union Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Union Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 46%. The jobs ↓
Union Township and Nappanee trade workers both ways
Nappanee is the top workplace for Union Township residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Union Township come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Union Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Union Township is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #180 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Union Township’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($72,422, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Union Township could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Union Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,366 residents head out to work, 357 work right here, and 2,490 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 (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Making and building: 48% of jobs based in Union Township
2,847 jobs are based in Union Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union Township, 2014 → 2024: 2,351 → 2,847. 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 Union Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
27% of working residents work in Nappanee
Where Union Township clocks in
27% of workers
12% of workers
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.
Union Township’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,043 commuters (the 4% 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 far Union Township goes to work
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.
In Union Township, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Union Township is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #68 of 593 in Indiana. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Indiana, on an EPA index of 7.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,184 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). 16.6% of Union Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Union Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Union Township places 1,206th of 3,297 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,400
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Worth Township IN | 6,688 | $123K | 4.1% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 160 | New Whiteland IN | 5,937 | $90K | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,204 | Collegeville PA | 5,287 | $91K | 7.1% | 6.7% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,205 | Kimberly WI | 7,556 | $70K | 9.9% | 2.8% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,206 | Union Township IN | 6,258 | $72K | 9.2% | 1.7% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,207 | Mansfield Township NJ | 7,996 | $89K | 6.8% | 4.1% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,208 | Pleasure Point CA | 5,489 | $120K | 8.9% | 4.6% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,297 | 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 Union Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Union Township and its neighbors: 27% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | – | B+ | A− | 20 min | $72,422 |
| Jackson Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 21 min | $89,542 |
| Jefferson Township | under 2% | A | B− | 20 min | $101,481 |
| Locke Township | under 2% | B | A− | 19 min | $87,734 |
| Harrison Township | under 2% | B | B− | 17 min | $80,938 |
| Nappanee | 27% | C+ | A− | 21 min | $68,892 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Nappanee. Darker towns draw more of Union Township’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 Union Township: questions
What is the median household income in Union Township?
$72,422 (±$18,186) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union Township?
9.2%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Nappanee (27%, 4 mi), Goshen (12%, 9 mi), Elkhart (10%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Union Township walkable?
Union Township is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Union Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union Township
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.