Work & commute · Jefferson

Work & commute in Jefferson, IN

Most working residents leave Jefferson for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Wayne (35%), Bluffton (10%) and Ossian (9%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

296 of 2,563 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 2,267 Jefferson residents head out of town to work, 296 work right here, and 1,164 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Jefferson.

2,267live here, work elsewhere

296live and work here

1,164work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Jefferson goes to work

Fort Wayne15.1 mi away

35%885

Bluffton8.8 mi away

10%260

Ossian1.2 mi away

9%221

Decatur11.8 mi away

3%80

Jefferson (in town)right here

3%75

Lafayette9.2 mi away

3%70

Pleasant6.3 mi away

2%63

New Haven15.3 mi away

2%43

Huntington18.7 mi away

1%35

Aboite14.1 mi away

1%30

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%801

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.

28%

50%

15%

28%Under 10 mi

50%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Jefferson is a commuter town

0.57jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.57 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Jefferson are

1,460 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

1,460 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)47%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Jefferson residents hold

2,563 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+30%

Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 1,125 → 1,460. 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.