Work & commute · Burns Harbor

Work & commute in Burns Harbor, IN

Most working residents leave Burns Harbor for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Chesterton (9%), Valparaiso (9%) and Portage (8%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21 of 952 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 931 Burns Harbor residents head out of town to work, 21 work right here, and 1,178 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Burns Harbor.

931live here, work elsewhere

21live and work here

1,178work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Burns Harbor goes to work

Chesterton3.9 mi away

9%89

Valparaiso10.3 mi away

9%81

Portage3.5 mi away

8%76

Porter2.3 mi away

6%58

Gary11.6 mi away

6%56

Michigan City14.7 mi away

5%48

Merrillville14.2 mi away

5%46

East Chicago17 mi away

4%40

Hammond19.1 mi away

3%33

Chicago, IL32.5 mi away

3%31

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%394

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Burns Harbor commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

37%

44%

11%

37%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Burns Harbor is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Burns Harbor are

1,199 jobs are based in Burns Harbor. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Burns Harbor’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Burns Harbor

1,199 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)40%

Trade, transport & utilities40%

Services (health, schools, offices…)20%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Burns Harbor residents hold

952 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+21%

Jobs based in Burns Harbor, 2013 → 2023: 994 → 1,199. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.