Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAbout two in five of Van Buren Township’s working residents commute to Bloomington
About one in ten stay in Van Buren Township for work; outside it, Bloomington is the main destination (41%, 6 miles). Jobs and income earn Van Buren Township B−; getting around on foot earns it B+. A typical one-way commute lasts 19 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
Jobs and commuting in Van Buren Township: the gist
Van Buren Township trades workers with the towns around it
Van Buren Township has about as many jobs (5,625) as working residents (5,074), but they are mostly different people: 4,639 residents leave for work each day while 5,190 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Van Buren Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
41% of Van Buren Township works in Bloomington
2,077 working residents, 41%, have their main job in Bloomington, 6.3 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Van Buren Township itself. The commute map ↓
Most Van Buren Township residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Van Buren Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Indiana. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Indiana worker. Time on the road ↓
Van Buren Township draws workers from far and wide
The 5,625 jobs in Van Buren Township are filled from a wide area. Van Buren Township’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
Jobs & income in Van Buren Township: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Van Buren Township is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #311 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Van Buren Township’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Van Buren Township could be anywhere from C to A−.
Van Buren Township by day and by night
On a workday 4,639 residents head out to work, 435 work right here, and 5,190 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 (1.11 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.
Where Van Buren Township’s working residents head each day
Where Van Buren Township clocks in
41% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Van Buren Township
About 20% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Time on the road from Van Buren Township: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Van Buren Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,106 commuters (the 10% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 34% of the jobs in Van Buren Township
5,625 jobs are based in Van Buren Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Van Buren Township, 2014 → 2024: 5,495 → 5,625. 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 Van Buren Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Van Buren Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Van Buren Township is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #133 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Van Buren Township 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 6,799 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 43% 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). 2.8% of Van Buren Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Van Buren Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Van Buren Township ranks: 1,416th of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Whitestown IN | 15,767 | $124K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | McCordsville IN | 13,094 | $111K | 0.9% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Brown Township IN | 15,523 | $140K | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,414 | Summit IL | 10,753 | $62K | 11.2% | 5.5% | 8% | B− |
| 1,415 | Canyon TX | 16,518 | $70K | 13.1% | 3.1% | 26% | B− |
| 1,416 | Van Buren Township IN | 12,634 | $74K | 8.7% | 4.8% | 9% | B− |
| 1,417 | Glenwood Springs CO | 10,395 | $91K | 7.9% | 4.5% | 35% | B− |
| 1,418 | Georgetown GA | 11,158 | $74K | 10.8% | 4.7% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Van Buren Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
10% of Van Buren Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Richland Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Van Buren Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren Township | – | B− | B+ | 19 min | $74,397 |
| Perry Township | 3% | B | A+ | 19 min | $66,567 |
| Indian Creek Township | under 1% | D | C+ | 37 min | $78,548 |
| Beech Creek Township | under 1% | C+ | D− | 33 min | $76,989 |
| Richland Township | 7% | A | C− | 20 min | $100,957 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Van Buren 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 Van Buren Township: questions
What is the median household income in Van Buren Township?
$74,397 (±$10,602) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Van Buren Township?
8.7%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Van Buren Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Van Buren Township work?
9% work in town.
Is Van Buren Township walkable?
Van Buren Township is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Van Buren Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Van Buren Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Van Buren 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.