Work & commute · Wakarusa

Work & commute in Wakarusa, IN

Most working residents leave Wakarusa for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Elkhart (14%), Goshen (13%) and Nappanee (10%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

132 of 829 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 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 697 Wakarusa residents head out of town to work, 132 work right here, and 1,981 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wakarusa.

697live here, work elsewhere

132live and work here

1,981work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wakarusa goes to work

Wakarusa (in town)right here

16%132

Elkhart11.4 mi away

14%118

Goshen9.9 mi away

13%105

Nappanee5.9 mi away

10%85

Mishawaka12.8 mi away

5%39

South Bend16.6 mi away

4%35

Fort Wayne54.6 mi away

2%17

Middlebury18.5 mi away

2%14

Baugo7.7 mi away

2%14

Warsaw21.5 mi away

1%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%259

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

How far

How far Wakarusa commutes

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

41%

44%

13%

41%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wakarusa is a job hub

2.55jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wakarusa are

2,113 jobs are based in Wakarusa. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wakarusa’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wakarusa

2,113 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)51%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)35%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Wakarusa residents hold

829 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+14%

Jobs based in Wakarusa, 2013 → 2023: 1,852 → 2,113. 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.