Work & commute · Decatur

Work & commute in Decatur, IN

Most working residents leave Decatur for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Center (16%), Wayne (11%) and Plainfield (9%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,400 of 17,259 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 15,859 Decatur residents head out of town to work, 1,400 work right here, and 14,440 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Decatur.

15,859live here, work elsewhere

1,400live and work here

14,440work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Decatur goes to work

Center9.9 mi away

16%2,810

Wayne6.5 mi away

11%1,867

Plainfield5.3 mi away

9%1,558

Decatur (in town)right here

8%1,400

Pike13.6 mi away

6%990

Washington15.4 mi away

4%710

Warren15.3 mi away

4%681

Greenwood10.4 mi away

4%657

Perry6.3 mi away

4%626

Carmel20.9 mi away

3%435

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%5,525

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

How far

How far Decatur commutes

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

52%

35%

52%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Decatur is balanced between jobs and homes

0.92jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Decatur are

15,840 jobs are based in Decatur. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Decatur’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Decatur

15,840 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities60%

Services (health, schools, offices…)29%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Decatur residents hold

17,259 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+19%

Jobs based in Decatur, 2013 → 2023: 13,299 → 15,840. 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.