At 10.1%, unemployment in Wakarusa is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Wakarusa are C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in seven work in Wakarusa; the top destination outside it is Elkhart (14%, 11 miles). Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average, next to 24 for Indiana and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Wakarusa: the figures worth knowing
Wakarusa is where the jobs are
Wakarusa has 2,113 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 3,300 people are in town, 64% more than the 2,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Wakarusa makes and builds things
51% of the jobs based in Wakarusa are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Wakarusa residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 36%. The jobs ↓
Wakarusa workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 829 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Wakarusa’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wakarusa is better than 43% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Wakarusa’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wakarusa could be anywhere from C− to A.
How many people are in Wakarusa by day
On a workday 697 residents head out to work, 132 work right here, and 1,981 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Wakarusa on a workday afternoon, 64% more than live here.
2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Goods jobs make up 51% of work in Wakarusa
2,113 jobs are based in Wakarusa.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakarusa, 2013 → 2023: 1,852 → 2,113. 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 Wakarusa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes each way for Wakarusa’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakarusa workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 953 commuters (the 7% 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.
Where Wakarusa’s workers come from
Where Wakarusa clocks in
14% of workers
13% 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.
Half of Wakarusa commutes less than 11 miles
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.
In Wakarusa, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wakarusa is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Wakarusa 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 1,027 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). 4.1% of Wakarusa households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wakarusa’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Wakarusa is 2,655th of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700
| # | 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% | 3% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,653 | West Wheatfield Township PA | 2,115 | $73K | 8.9% | 6.2% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,654 | Kapaau HI | 2,224 | $84K | 8.7% | 3.5% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,655 | Wakarusa IN | 2,005 | $74K | 8.5% | 10.1% | 16% | C+ |
| 2,656 | Fawn River Township MI | 1,527 | $79K | 12.0% | 0.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,657 | Sycamore Township OH | 1,441 | $64K | 5.4% | 7.7% | 4% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Wakarusa, 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 Wakarusa: questions
What is the median household income in Wakarusa?
$74,464 (±$12,260) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakarusa?
8.5%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wakarusa?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wakarusa work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elkhart (14%, 11 mi), Goshen (13%, 10 mi), Nappanee (10%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wakarusa walkable?
Wakarusa is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wakarusa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wakarusa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakarusa
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.