Work & commute · Lancaster

Work & commute in Lancaster, IN

Most working residents leave Lancaster for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Bluffton (31%), Fort Wayne (17%) and Ossian (3%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

418 of 2,573 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 2,155 Lancaster residents head out of town to work, 418 work right here, and 2,778 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lancaster.

2,155live here, work elsewhere

418live and work here

2,778work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lancaster goes to work

Bluffton2.8 mi away

31%786

Fort Wayne21.4 mi away

17%427

Lancaster (in town)right here

4%98

Ossian6.9 mi away

3%83

Berne13.1 mi away

2%62

Decatur12 mi away

2%55

Marion31.2 mi away

2%54

Harrison5.8 mi away

2%42

Jefferson6.2 mi away

1%35

Lafayette14.2 mi away

1%33

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%898

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

How far

How far Lancaster commutes

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

42%

27%

14%

17%

42%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lancaster is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lancaster are

3,196 jobs are based in Lancaster. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lancaster

3,196 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Lancaster residents hold

2,573 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+33%

Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 2,408 → 3,196. 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.