Work & commute · Merrillville

Work & commute in Merrillville, IN

Most working residents leave Merrillville for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (11%), Gary (8%) and Crown Point (6%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

1,965 of 15,580 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 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 13,615 Merrillville residents head out of town to work, 1,965 work right here, and 19,969 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Merrillville.

13,615live here, work elsewhere

1,965live and work here

19,969work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Merrillville goes to work

Merrillville (in town)right here

13%1,965

Chicago, IL31.5 mi away

11%1,701

Gary8.3 mi away

8%1,234

Crown Point4.6 mi away

6%943

Hobart3.6 mi away

5%832

Hammond13.7 mi away

5%732

East Chicago14 mi away

4%596

Munster10.9 mi away

3%438

Schererville6.5 mi away

3%418

Portage10.7 mi away

3%401

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%6,320

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

How far

How far Merrillville commutes

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

45%

22%

20%

14%

45%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Merrillville is balanced between jobs and homes

1.41jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Merrillville are

21,934 jobs are based in Merrillville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Merrillville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Merrillville

21,934 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Merrillville residents hold

15,580 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+6%

Jobs based in Merrillville, 2013 → 2023: 20,658 → 21,934. 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.