Work & commute · Pleasant

Work & commute in Pleasant, IN

Most working residents leave Pleasant for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Valparaiso (21%), Kouts (8%) and Merrillville (5%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

197 of 1,997 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 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 1,800 Pleasant residents head out of town to work, 197 work right here, and 608 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pleasant.

1,800live here, work elsewhere

197live and work here

608work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pleasant goes to work

Valparaiso13.2 mi away

21%419

Kouts2.2 mi away

8%155

Merrillville20.7 mi away

5%97

Gary27.3 mi away

4%81

Chicago, IL51.7 mi away

4%75

Chesterton21.4 mi away

3%66

Portage22.5 mi away

3%60

Hobart20.9 mi away

3%57

East Chicago34 mi away

2%49

Hammond34.2 mi away

2%49

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%889

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

How far

How far Pleasant commutes

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

18%

45%

21%

16%

18%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pleasant is a commuter town

0.40jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Pleasant are

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

Jobs based in Pleasant

805 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Pleasant residents hold

1,997 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+15%

Jobs based in Pleasant, 2013 → 2023: 703 → 805. 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.