Work & commute · South Haven

Work & commute in South Haven, IN

Most working residents leave South Haven for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Portage (14%), Valparaiso (13%) and Gary (5%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

50 of 3,423 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 3,373 South Haven residents head out of town to work, 50 work right here, and 345 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Haven.

3,373live here, work elsewhere

50live and work here

345work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South Haven goes to work

Portage4 mi away

14%470

Valparaiso6.1 mi away

13%429

Gary11.3 mi away

5%170

Hobart7.2 mi away

5%168

Chicago, IL34.8 mi away

5%158

East Chicago17.8 mi away

4%140

Hammond19.1 mi away

4%139

Merrillville10.3 mi away

4%138

Chesterton6.1 mi away

4%121

Porter6.8 mi away

3%97

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,393

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

How far

How far South Haven commutes

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

45%

34%

13%

45%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South Haven is a commuter town

0.12jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in South Haven are

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

Jobs based in South Haven

395 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less42%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month29%

Jobs South Haven residents hold

3,423 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−15%

Jobs based in South Haven, 2013 → 2023: 466 → 395. 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.