Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainMost of Valparaiso commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Only 1% work in Valparaiso itself; outside it, Lincoln draws the most (35%, 20 miles). There are 118 jobs in Valparaiso for 300 working residents. The trip to work takes 32 minutes on average, next to 19 for Nebraska and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Valparaiso: the gist
Valparaiso and Lincoln trade workers both ways
Lincoln is the top workplace for Valparaiso residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in Valparaiso come from (31% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Valparaiso workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 19 across Nebraska. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 100 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 300 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The towns that employ Valparaiso’s residents
Where Valparaiso clocks in
35% of workers
13% 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 trip to work from Valparaiso: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valparaiso workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 284 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Nebraska: 86% 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 Valparaiso on a workday
On a workday 296 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 114 people come in from elsewhere.
About 430 people are in Valparaiso on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
Goods jobs make up 50% of work in Valparaiso
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valparaiso, 2013 → 2023: 221 → 118. 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 Valparaiso’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Valparaiso
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.
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 Valparaiso: questions
What is the median household income in Valparaiso?
$85,625 (±$17,533) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valparaiso?
5.0%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valparaiso?
32 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Valparaiso work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lincoln (35%, 20 mi), Wahoo (14%, 15 mi), Omaha (13%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Valparaiso without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Valparaiso, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valparaiso
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.