Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0At 5.8%, unemployment in Westchester Township is higher than in 72% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 26 minutes each way (Indiana 24, U.S. 26). The two grades for Westchester Township are B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in five stay in Westchester Township for work; outside it, Chesterton is the main destination (13%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Westchester Township in brief
Westchester Township makes and builds things
46% of the jobs based in Westchester Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Westchester Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 24%. The jobs ↓
Westchester Township draws workers from far and wide
The 11,865 jobs in Westchester Township are filled from a wide area. Westchester Township’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 55% 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.
The figures behind Westchester Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westchester Township is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #278 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Westchester Township’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westchester Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
A place that makes things: 46% of Westchester Township’s jobs are in goods
11,865 jobs are based in Westchester Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westchester Township, 2014 → 2024: 12,009 → 11,865. 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 Westchester Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Westchester Township goes to work
Where Westchester Township clocks in
13% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Westchester Township
On a workday 7,574 residents head out to work, 1,658 work right here, and 10,207 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in Westchester Township on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 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.
About 26 minutes each way, about the IN average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westchester Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,918 commuters (the 14% 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 in the region Westchester Township works
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.
Most trips from Westchester Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westchester Township is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #117 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Westchester 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 10,385 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 4.0% of Westchester Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Westchester Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Westchester Township is 1,025th among 1,705 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Whitestown IN | 15,767 | $124K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Brown Township IN | 15,523 | $140K | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,023 | Washington MO | 15,906 | $79K | 7.9% | 3.8% | 29% | B |
| 1,024 | Troy MO | 15,201 | $79K | 13.6% | 2.3% | 15% | B |
| 1,025 | Westchester Township IN | 21,022 | $83K | 9.7% | 5.8% | 18% | B |
| 1,026 | Sun City West AZ | 27,425 | $64K | 7.6% | 3.8% | 8% | B |
| 1,027 | Mundy Township MI | 15,468 | $79K | 8.3% | 5.9% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | 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 Westchester Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Work next door: 20% of Westchester Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Westchester Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westchester Township | – | B | B+ | 26 min | $83,129 |
| Burns Harbor | under 4% | A− | B | 25 min | $98,500 |
| Pine Township | under 4% | B− | C | 35 min | $75,274 |
| Portage Township | under 4% | B− | C+ | 27 min | $76,594 |
| Portage | 7% | B− | B− | 27 min | $76,276 |
| Chesterton | 13% | B | B+ | 26 min | $91,060 |
| Liberty Township | under 4% | B+ | C | 32 min | $96,563 |
| Beverly Shores | under 4% | — | — | 40 min | — |
| Jackson Township | under 4% | A | C− | 26 min | $132,961 |
Same-state neighbors only. Beverly Shores: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Chesterton. Darker towns draw more of Westchester 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 Westchester Township: questions
What is the median household income in Westchester Township?
$83,129 (±$10,928) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westchester Township?
9.7%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westchester Township?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westchester Township work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chesterton (13%, 2 mi), Valparaiso (10%, 11 mi), Portage (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Westchester Township walkable?
Westchester Township is more walkable than 69% 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 Westchester Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westchester Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westchester 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.