Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, IN

56% of Columbus’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Seymour (3%), Center (3%) and Bloomington (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

56%

13,060 of 23,500 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,440 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 13,060 work right here, and 29,674 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

10,440live here, work elsewhere

13,060live and work here

29,674work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Columbus (in town)right here

56%13,060

Seymour18.1 mi away

3%797

Center41 mi away

3%712

Bloomington32.4 mi away

2%454

Franklin21.1 mi away

1%343

German7.2 mi away

1%338

Greenwood29.1 mi away

1%303

Edinburgh10.2 mi away

1%270

Washington47.7 mi away

1%266

Pike49.7 mi away

1%250

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%6,707

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

How far

How far Columbus commutes

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

60%

10%

16%

13%

60%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is a job hub

1.82jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

42,734 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbus

42,734 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)45%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

23,500 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+10%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 38,907 → 42,734. 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.