Work & commute · Columbia

Work & commute in Columbia, IN

Most working residents leave Columbia for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Wayne (26%), Columbia City (15%) and Union (11%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

944 of 5,614 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 4,670 Columbia residents head out of town to work, 944 work right here, and 3,310 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbia.

4,670live here, work elsewhere

944live and work here

3,310work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbia goes to work

Fort Wayne19 mi away

26%1,439

Columbia City2.2 mi away

15%869

Union5.5 mi away

11%620

Warsaw19.5 mi away

6%349

Pierceton11.1 mi away

1%82

Columbia (in town)right here

1%80

Thorncreek5.7 mi away

1%78

Albion18.5 mi away

1%75

Huntington17.7 mi away

1%62

Marion41.4 mi away

1%61

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%1,899

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

How far

How far Columbia commutes

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

33%

45%

14%

33%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbia is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbia are

4,254 jobs are based in Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbia

4,254 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Columbia residents hold

5,614 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+2%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 4,166 → 4,254. 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.