Work & commute · Valparaiso

Work & commute in Valparaiso, IN

About one in 3 of Valparaiso’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Merrillville (5%), Portage (4%) and Chicago (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

30%

4,468 of 14,931 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,463 Valparaiso residents head out of town to work, 4,468 work right here, and 18,978 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Valparaiso.

10,463live here, work elsewhere

4,468live and work here

18,978work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Valparaiso goes to work

Valparaiso (in town)right here

30%4,468

Merrillville13.8 mi away

5%673

Portage10 mi away

4%663

Chicago, IL40.9 mi away

4%581

Chesterton8.3 mi away

3%512

Gary17.1 mi away

3%477

Hobart11.8 mi away

3%457

Crown Point16 mi away

3%454

Michigan City18.5 mi away

3%423

Hammond24.8 mi away

2%326

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%5,897

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

How far

How far Valparaiso commutes

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

43%

33%

10%

14%

43%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Valparaiso is a job hub

1.57jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Valparaiso are

23,446 jobs are based in Valparaiso. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Valparaiso’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Valparaiso

23,446 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Valparaiso residents hold

14,931 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+0%

Jobs based in Valparaiso, 2013 → 2023: 23,393 → 23,446. 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.