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Work & commute · Kankakee

Work & commute in Kankakee, IN

Most working residents leave Kankakee for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are La Porte (20%), Michigan City (9%) and South Bend (8%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
9%
170 of 1,949 working residents
Typical commute
15 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
28 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
6%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,779 Kankakee residents head out of town to work, 170 work right here, and 3,293 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kankakee.

1,779live here, work elsewhere
170live and work here
3,293work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Kankakee goes to work

ChicagoNew CarlisleValparaisoLa PorteMichigan CitySouth BendOliveKankakeeCoolspringGalenaCenterPleasantScipioSpringfieldWillsLa PorteMichigan CitySouth BendNew CarlisleOliveValparaisoChicagoCenterWillsKankakee
1
La Porte4.3 mi away
20%391
2
Michigan City11.9 mi away
9%179
3
South Bend19.7 mi away
8%150
4
New Carlisle8.3 mi away
3%53
5
Olive9.9 mi away
2%48
6
Valparaiso23.9 mi away
2%47
7
Kankakee (in town)right here
2%45
8
Chicago, IL54.9 mi away
2%43
9
Center5.6 mi away
2%41
10
Wills4.9 mi away
2%39
Everywhere elseother towns and states
47%913

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

How far

How far Kankakee commutes

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

37%Under 10 mi
30%10–24 mi
16%25–50 mi
17%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Kankakee is a job hub

1.78jobs per working resident
A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Kankakee are

3,463 jobs are based in Kankakee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kankakee’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kankakee

3,463 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)66%
Trade, transport & utilities22%
Services (health, schools, offices…)12%
$1,250 a month or less10%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%
Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Kankakee residents hold

1,949 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)30%
Trade, transport & utilities21%
Services (health, schools, offices…)49%
$1,250 a month or less14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%
Over $3,333 a month61%
+12%

Jobs based in Kankakee, 2013 → 2023: 3,101 → 3,463. 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.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Kankakee, INLaPorte CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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