Work & commute · Van Buren

Work & commute in Van Buren, IN

Most working residents leave Van Buren for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Bloomington (42%), Richland (8%) and Center (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

390 of 5,130 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 4,740 Van Buren residents head out of town to work, 390 work right here, and 4,353 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Van Buren.

4,740live here, work elsewhere

390live and work here

4,353work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Van Buren goes to work

Bloomington6.3 mi away

42%2,139

Richland5.3 mi away

8%409

Van Buren (in town)right here

5%236

Center52.1 mi away

4%230

Spencer13.8 mi away

4%198

Bloomington8.6 mi away

3%160

Perry5.8 mi away

3%158

Ellettsville7.6 mi away

2%101

Bedford19.6 mi away

2%79

Washington58.2 mi away

1%53

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%1,367

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

How far

How far Van Buren commutes

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

63%

10%

18%

63%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Van Buren is balanced between jobs and homes

0.92jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Van Buren are

4,743 jobs are based in Van Buren. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Van Buren’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Van Buren

4,743 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Van Buren residents hold

5,130 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−12%

Jobs based in Van Buren, 2013 → 2023: 5,368 → 4,743. 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.