Household incomes put Union Township near the very bottom of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. Below the poverty line: 14.3% of residents, where Indiana as a whole has 12.3%. For jobs and income Union Township is better than 7% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (D).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Union Township
Union Township makes and builds things
69% 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 33%. The jobs ↓
Union Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 123 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The jobs in Union Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
78% of the jobs based in Union Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 60% of the jobs Union Township residents hold. 89% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Union Township. 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 732 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Union Township’s grade explained
The poverty rate holds Union Township’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($30,750, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (4.2%) is left out: Union Township’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, Union Township could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Union Township makes things: 69% of its jobs are in goods
310 jobs are based in Union Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union Township, 2013 → 2023: 258 → 310. 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 Union Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Union Township takes about 40 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.6 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 647 commuters (the 0% 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.
In and out of Union Township on a workday
On a workday 698 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 276 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Union Township on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.42 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Union Township to work: where people go
Where Union Township clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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 commute from Union Township, by distance
About 22% 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.
The commute in Union Township is mostly behind the wheel
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 647 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). 0.0% 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.
Ranked on jobs and income, Union Township is 5,371st among 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Ogden Dunes IN | 1,163 | $117K | 3.9% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,369 | Roscoe TX | 1,208 | $56K | 19.6% | 5.2% | 12% | D |
| 5,370 | Avena Township IL | 1,875 | $51K | 20.0% | 5.6% | 13% | D |
| 5,371 | Union Township IN | 1,600 | $31K | 14.3% | 4.2% | 5% | D |
| 5,372 | Elmer Township MI | 1,205 | $62K | 18.0% | 2.2% | 1% | D |
| 5,373 | Perry Township OH | 2,014 | $54K | 45.2% | 1.6% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | 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 Union Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
How Union Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Keener Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | – | D | D | 40 min | $30,750 |
| Barkley Township | under 4% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Keener Township | 3% | B− | C+ | 31 min | $74,292 |
| Walker Township | under 4% | C+ | D− | 38 min | $91,932 |
| Newton Township | under 4% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Marion Township | under 4% | C− | B− | 20 min | $62,252 |
Same-state neighbors only. Barkley Township and Newton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 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 Union Township: questions
What is the median household income in Union Township?
$30,750 (±$22,448) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union Township?
14.3%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union Township?
40 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rensselaer (6%, 9 mi), DeMotte (5%, 8 mi), Wheatfield Township (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Union Township walkable?
Union Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% 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), 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.