Work & commute · Washington

Work & commute in Washington, IN

Most working residents leave Washington for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Center (16%), Wayne (10%) and Plainfield (8%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

3,098 of 30,242 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 27,144 Washington residents head out of town to work, 3,098 work right here, and 17,603 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Washington.

27,144live here, work elsewhere

3,098live and work here

17,603work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Washington goes to work

Center13.6 mi away

16%4,911

Wayne7 mi away

10%2,891

Plainfield4.8 mi away

8%2,513

Avon0 mi away

8%2,437

Pike10.4 mi away

7%2,073

Washington15.5 mi away

4%1,314

Carmel19.2 mi away

4%1,188

Brownsburg5.1 mi away

3%872

Decatur8.5 mi away

3%783

Danville5.4 mi away

3%774

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%10,486

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

How far

How far Washington commutes

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

43%

42%

43%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Washington is a commuter town

0.68jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Washington are

20,701 jobs are based in Washington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Washington

20,701 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities35%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Washington residents hold

30,242 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+73%

Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 11,957 → 20,701. 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.