Guest, Sign inJoin
Work & commute in Jefferson · Balanced

Every workday, about 640 people come to Jefferson for work, and 690 head out

About one in 4 of Jefferson’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Kentland (22%), Lafayette (7%) and Rensselaer (4%). Half commute less than 32 miles.

Work in town
23%
210 of 895 working residents
Typical commute
32 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
24 min
Less than IN (24 min)
Work from home
13%
More than IN (11%)
Jobs based here
848
Balanced
Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 685 residents head out to work, 210 work right here, and 638 people come in from elsewhere.

685live here, work elsewhere
210live and work here
638work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,200
Workday2,200
2,200live here− 690head out to work+ 640come in to work= 2,200on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.95jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.95 per resident).

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

22% of working residents work in Kentland

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Watseka: 26 residents work here (3%)Chicago: 13 residents work here (1%)BrookGoodland: 26 residents work here (3%)MoroccoKentland: 200 residents work here (22%)FowlerRemington: 28 residents work here (3%)Rensselaer: 38 residents work here (4%)West Lafayette: 14 residents work here (2%)La Porte: 18 residents work here (2%)Lafayette: 64 residents work here (7%)ConcordYorkGrantJeffersonWashingtonIroquois: 16 residents work here (2%)RoselawnKentlandLafayetteRensselaerRemingtonWatsekaGoodlandJefferson
1
Kentland0.5 mi away
22%200
2
Lafayette40.6 mi away
7%64
3
Rensselaer19.5 mi away
4%38
4
Remington16.8 mi away
3%28
5
Watseka, IL14.6 mi away
3%26
6
Goodland8.2 mi away
3%26
7
La Porte69 mi away
2%18
8
Iroquois8.8 mi away
2%16
9
West Lafayette36.2 mi away
2%14
10
Chicago, IL74 mi away
1%13
Everywhere elseother towns and states
51%452
The top trips

Where Jefferson clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

How far

Half of Jefferson commutes less than 32 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miKentland: 22% · 0.5 miLafayette: 7% · 40.6 miRensselaer: 4% · 19.5 miRemington: 3% · 16.8 miWatseka: 3% · 14.6 miGoodland: 3% · 8.2 miLa Porte: 2% · 69 miIroquois: 2% · 8.8 miWest Lafayette: 2% · 36.2 miChicago: 1% · 74 miKentland 22%Lafayette 7%Rensselaer 4%Remington 3%Watseka 3%Jefferson
JeffersonTop destinations (size = commuters)
29%Under 10 mi258 residents
18%10–24 mi160 residents
22%25–50 mi195 residents
31%Over 50 mi281 residents

About 31% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 848 jobs in Jefferson are

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

Jobs based in JeffersonJobs Jefferson residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms17%29%
Trade, transport & utilities19%23%
Services: health, schools, offices65%48%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%19%
$1,251–$3,333 a month34%31%
Over $3,333 a month44%50%

Who does it

29 or younger20%24%
30 to 5448%49%
55 and older31%27%
−78%

Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 3,929 → 848. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 24 minutes each way, about the IN average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
182 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Jefferson24 min
Indiana24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
13%

of Jefferson workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Next door

Jefferson and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Jefferson’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Jefferson

Jefferson home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Jefferson worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

Post to Jefferson

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in