Work & commute · Wanatah

Work & commute in Wanatah, IN

Most working residents leave Wanatah for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Valparaiso (14%), La Porte (9%) and Gary (4%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19 of 406 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 387 Wanatah residents head out of town to work, 19 work right here, and 491 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wanatah.

387live here, work elsewhere

19live and work here

491work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wanatah goes to work

Valparaiso9 mi away

14%57

La Porte15.5 mi away

9%36

Wanatah (in town)right here

5%19

Gary26 mi away

4%17

Portage18.4 mi away

4%15

Michigan City19.3 mi away

4%15

Clinton2.9 mi away

3%13

Chesterton14.4 mi away

3%12

Chicago, IL49.6 mi away

2%9

East Chicago32.7 mi away

2%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%204

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

How far

How far Wanatah commutes

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

28%

34%

18%

20%

28%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wanatah is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Wanatah are

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

Jobs based in Wanatah

510 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Wanatah residents hold

406 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+45%

Jobs based in Wanatah, 2013 → 2023: 352 → 510. 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.