Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWhiting has higher unemployment (11.3%) than 96% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 31 minutes on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Whiting C+; getting around on foot earns it A. About one in seven work in Whiting itself; outside it, Hammond draws the most (15%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Whiting
Whiting makes and builds things
64% of the jobs based in Whiting are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Whiting residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Whiting pay better than its residents’ jobs
82% of the jobs based in Whiting pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 54% of the jobs Whiting residents hold. 92% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Whiting. The jobs ↓
Whiting is where the jobs are
Whiting has 2,891 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Whiting workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (21 to 26 minutes). 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.
The figures behind Whiting’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Whiting is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #432 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Whiting’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Whiting could be anywhere from C− to B.
In Whiting, 64% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
2,891 jobs are based in Whiting.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whiting, 2013 → 2023: 3,266 → 2,891. 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 Whiting’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Whiting on a workday
On a workday 1,422 residents head out to work, 242 work right here, and 2,649 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in Whiting on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.7 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.
About 31 minutes each way for Whiting’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whiting workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,880 commuters (the 8% 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.
The towns that send workers to Whiting
Where Whiting clocks in
15% of workers
13% of workers
6% 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.
How far Whiting’s workers travel
About 15% 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.
In Whiting, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Whiting is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #11 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Whiting 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 2,052 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 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). 10.1% of Whiting households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Whiting’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,000 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,000, Whiting comes 2,610th 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Milan Township IN | 4,066 | $120K | 1.3% | 0.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 130 | Hidden Valley IN | 5,706 | $121K | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Georgetown IN | 3,855 | $113K | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,608 | Hudson NC | 3,786 | $65K | 13.6% | 4.3% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,609 | Richmond NY | 3,275 | $79K | 6.8% | 8.3% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,610 | Whiting IN | 4,479 | $72K | 17.1% | 11.3% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,611 | Wade Township IL | 4,282 | $64K | 11.4% | 2.8% | 22% | C+ |
| 2,612 | Perry NY | 4,769 | $63K | 9.7% | 3.5% | 18% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,000 | 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 Whiting, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
21% of Whiting works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whiting workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiting | – | C+ | A | 31 min | $71,708 |
| North Township | under 2% | C+ | A− | 26 min | $61,798 |
| Hammond | 15% | C | A− | 26 min | $55,504 |
| East Chicago | 6% | C− | A− | 21 min | $42,125 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Hammond. Darker towns draw more of Whiting’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 Whiting: questions
What is the median household income in Whiting?
$71,708 (±$17,978) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whiting?
17.1%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whiting?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whiting work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hammond (15%, 4 mi), Chicago (13%, 15 mi), East Chicago (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Whiting walkable?
Whiting is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Whiting without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whiting, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whiting
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.