Work & commute · La Porte

Work & commute in La Porte, IN

About one in 3 of La Porte’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Michigan City (10%), South Bend (4%) and Valparaiso (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

2,893 of 9,224 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 6,331 La Porte residents head out of town to work, 2,893 work right here, and 8,969 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in La Porte.

6,331live here, work elsewhere

2,893live and work here

8,969work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where La Porte goes to work

La Porte (in town)right here

31%2,893

Michigan City10.4 mi away

10%967

South Bend23.5 mi away

4%347

Valparaiso19.7 mi away

3%281

Center2.9 mi away

2%185

Portage24.1 mi away

2%161

Chicago, IL52.4 mi away

2%141

Scipio4 mi away

1%132

Mishawaka28.7 mi away

1%129

New Buffalo, MI12.1 mi away

1%121

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%3,867

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

How far

How far La Porte commutes

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

42%

26%

15%

17%

42%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

La Porte is balanced between jobs and homes

1.29jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in La Porte are

11,862 jobs are based in La Porte. Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Porte’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in La Porte

11,862 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs La Porte residents hold

9,224 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+1%

Jobs based in La Porte, 2013 → 2023: 11,756 → 11,862. 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.