Fewer people are out of work in Walkerton (2.5%) than in 77% of U.S. towns
4% of workers work from home, against 11% across Indiana. Walkerton grades B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in five work in Walkerton; the top destination outside it is South Bend (18%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Walkerton apart
Walkerton is where the jobs are
Walkerton has 1,316 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Walkerton makes and builds things
55% of the jobs based in Walkerton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Walkerton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 36%. 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 845 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Walkerton gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Walkerton is better than 63% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Walkerton’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($65,340, 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, Walkerton could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
A workday in Walkerton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 662 residents head out to work, 183 work right here, and 1,133 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Walkerton on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.6 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, not services: 55% of the jobs in Walkerton
1,316 jobs are based in Walkerton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Walkerton, 2013 → 2023: 1,178 → 1,316. 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 Walkerton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into Walkerton
Where Walkerton clocks in
18% of workers
4% 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.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Walkerton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Walkerton workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 929 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 Walkerton goes to work
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 Walkerton is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Walkerton is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Indiana, on an EPA index of 6.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 972 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 Walkerton households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Walkerton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Walkerton places 1,459th of 5,148 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Meridian Hills IN | 1,800 | $212K | 0.8% | 3.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Galena IN | 1,549 | $128K | 1.8% | 4.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 156 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,457 | Helga Township MN | 1,807 | $99K | 5.3% | 1.4% | 2% | B |
| 1,458 | Alexander NY | 2,446 | $76K | 2.8% | 3.8% | 5% | B |
| 1,459 | Walkerton IN | 2,074 | $65K | 6.4% | 2.5% | 22% | B |
| 1,460 | Seaside Park NJ | 2,135 | $84K | 10.3% | 5.2% | 1% | B |
| 1,461 | Folsom NJ | 1,834 | $110K | 7.3% | 8.3% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | 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 Walkerton, 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 Walkerton: questions
What is the median household income in Walkerton?
$65,340 (±$5,911) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Walkerton?
6.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Walkerton?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Walkerton work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Bend (18%, 18 mi), Plymouth (7%, 12 mi), Mishawaka (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Walkerton walkable?
Walkerton is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Walkerton without a car?
<1% 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 Walkerton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Walkerton
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.