Work & commute · Rensselaer

Work & commute in Rensselaer, IN

About one in 3 of Rensselaer’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Lafayette (5%), Marion (5%) and Remington (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

789 of 2,709 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 1,920 Rensselaer residents head out of town to work, 789 work right here, and 2,553 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rensselaer.

1,920live here, work elsewhere

789live and work here

2,553work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rensselaer goes to work

Rensselaer (in town)right here

29%789

Lafayette41 mi away

5%140

Marion1.9 mi away

5%126

Remington12.6 mi away

4%114

Carpenter12.3 mi away

2%42

West Lafayette37 mi away

1%39

Valparaiso36.9 mi away

1%38

DeMotte17.3 mi away

1%36

Hammond49.5 mi away

1%36

Crown Point33.2 mi away

1%35

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%1,314

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

How far

How far Rensselaer commutes

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

38%

17%

24%

22%

38%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rensselaer is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Rensselaer are

3,342 jobs are based in Rensselaer. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rensselaer’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rensselaer

3,342 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Rensselaer residents hold

2,709 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−8%

Jobs based in Rensselaer, 2013 → 2023: 3,632 → 3,342. 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.