Work & commute · Garrett

Work & commute in Garrett, IN

Most working residents leave Garrett for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Wayne (23%), Auburn (14%) and Kendallville (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

545 of 3,464 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 2,919 Garrett residents head out of town to work, 545 work right here, and 2,561 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Garrett.

2,919live here, work elsewhere

545live and work here

2,561work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Garrett goes to work

Fort Wayne18.3 mi away

23%798

Garrett (in town)right here

16%545

Auburn3.6 mi away

14%490

Kendallville9.4 mi away

5%160

Avilla5.7 mi away

3%101

Elkhart49.3 mi away

3%87

Ashley12.1 mi away

2%57

Butler14 mi away

2%52

Angola21.2 mi away

1%50

Wilmington11.6 mi away

1%39

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%1,085

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

How far

How far Garrett commutes

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

42%

39%

12%

42%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Garrett is balanced between jobs and homes

0.90jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.90 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Garrett are

3,106 jobs are based in Garrett. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Garrett’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Garrett

3,106 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)40%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)31%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Garrett residents hold

3,464 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)40%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+26%

Jobs based in Garrett, 2013 → 2023: 2,460 → 3,106. 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.