Work & commute · Jefferson

Work & commute in Jefferson, IN

Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Albion (17%), Fort Wayne (12%) and Kendallville (8%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31 of 700 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 669 Jefferson residents head out of town to work, 31 work right here, and 698 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Jefferson.

669live here, work elsewhere

31live and work here

698work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Jefferson goes to work

Albion3.2 mi away

17%118

Fort Wayne23.7 mi away

12%85

Kendallville6.3 mi away

8%54

Elkhart37.6 mi away

4%31

Auburn15.7 mi away

4%25

Ligonier13.3 mi away

3%21

Goshen27.6 mi away

3%19

Elkhart9.3 mi away

3%19

Warsaw27.4 mi away

2%14

Jefferson (in town)right here

2%12

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%302

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

How far

How far Jefferson commutes

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

35%

36%

17%

12%

35%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Jefferson is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Jefferson are

729 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 Jefferson

729 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)77%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)16%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month81%

Jobs Jefferson residents hold

700 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)46%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−23%

Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 949 → 729. 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.