Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Wheatfield Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
2% of workers have no commute at all, against 11% across Indiana. Employers in Wheatfield Township report 819 jobs, and 2,122 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Wheatfield Township are B for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Wheatfield Township apart
No single place dominates Wheatfield Township’s commute
The biggest draw, Valparaiso, gets only 7% of working residents, and 59% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Wheatfield Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Wheatfield Township pay little
33% of the jobs based in Wheatfield Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Wheatfield Township
55% of Wheatfield Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Wheatfield Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Wheatfield Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Wheatfield Township went from 598 in 2013 to 819 in 2023, +37%. The jobs ↓
Wheatfield Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Wheatfield Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wheatfield Township is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #226 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Wheatfield Township’s grade up (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns). 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, Wheatfield Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
7% of working residents work in Valparaiso
Where Wheatfield Township clocks in
7% 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.
What Wheatfield Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wheatfield Township, 2013 → 2023: 598 → 819. 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 Wheatfield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes each way, longer than most of Indiana
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wheatfield Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,798 commuters (the 2% 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 Wheatfield Township on a workday
On a workday 1,971 residents head out to work, 151 work right here, and 668 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Wheatfield Township on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far Wheatfield Township’s workers travel
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.
Getting around Wheatfield Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wheatfield Township is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #300 of 593 in Indiana. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.3% across Indiana, on an EPA index of 5.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,839 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). 1.3% of Wheatfield Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wheatfield Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,938 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200, Wheatfield Township comes 1,594th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Milan Township IN | 4,066 | $120K | 1.3% | 0.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 128 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 132 | Georgetown IN | 3,855 | $113K | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,592 | Lebanon IL | 4,884 | $89K | 14.8% | 2.0% | 8% | B |
| 1,593 | Lytle TX | 3,626 | $71K | 8.8% | 4.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,594 | Wheatfield Township IN | 4,588 | $80K | 7.5% | 2.3% | 7% | B |
| 1,595 | Jaffrey NH | 5,633 | $92K | 3.8% | 5.1% | 29% | B |
| 1,596 | Palo Cedro CA | 3,685 | $120K | 6.6% | 5.8% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Wheatfield Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Work in the towns next to Wheatfield Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wheatfield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatfield Township | – | B | C+ | 29 min | $80,150 |
| Keener Township | under 3% | B− | C+ | 31 min | $74,292 |
| Kankakee Township | under 3% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Pleasant Township | under 3% | A− | D | 31 min | $87,389 |
| Walker Township | under 3% | C+ | D− | 38 min | $91,932 |
Same-state neighbors only. Kankakee Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wheatfield 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 Wheatfield Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wheatfield Township?
$80,150 (±$14,084) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wheatfield Township?
7.5%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wheatfield Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wheatfield Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Valparaiso (7%, 17 mi), DeMotte (6%, 5 mi), Crown Point (4%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wheatfield Township walkable?
Wheatfield Township is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wheatfield Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wheatfield Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wheatfield 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.