Work & commute · Smith

Work & commute in Smith, IN

Most working residents leave Smith for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Wayne (35%), Churubusco (11%) and Columbia City (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

317 of 2,440 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 2,123 Smith residents head out of town to work, 317 work right here, and 921 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Smith.

2,123live here, work elsewhere

317live and work here

921work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Smith goes to work

Fort Wayne14.4 mi away

35%863

Churubusco2.4 mi away

11%261

Columbia City7.1 mi away

5%127

Union6 mi away

5%118

Smith (in town)right here

2%56

Warsaw25.4 mi away

2%52

Auburn19 mi away

2%46

Kendallville16.6 mi away

2%43

Avilla12.2 mi away

1%25

Albion12.8 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%827

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

How far

How far Smith commutes

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

27%

52%

14%

27%Under 10 mi

52%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Smith is a commuter town

0.51jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Smith are

1,238 jobs are based in Smith. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Smith’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Smith

1,238 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)52%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Smith residents hold

2,440 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−27%

Jobs based in Smith, 2013 → 2023: 1,704 → 1,238. 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.