Work & commute · West Lafayette

Work & commute in West Lafayette, IN

About one in 3 of West Lafayette’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Lafayette (19%), Center (4%) and Washington (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

3,827 of 10,951 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 7,124 West Lafayette residents head out of town to work, 3,827 work right here, and 20,307 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Lafayette.

7,124live here, work elsewhere

3,827live and work here

20,307work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Lafayette goes to work

West Lafayette (in town)right here

35%3,827

Lafayette4.4 mi away

19%2,074

Center62 mi away

4%388

Washington56.9 mi away

2%205

Pike52.4 mi away

2%187

Carmel52.6 mi away

2%179

Kokomo41.9 mi away

1%158

Fort Wayne103.3 mi away

1%137

Wayne58.1 mi away

1%125

Wabash2.9 mi away

1%108

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%3,563

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

How far

How far West Lafayette commutes

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

57%

35%

57%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Lafayette is a job hub

2.20jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Lafayette are

24,134 jobs are based in West Lafayette. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Lafayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Lafayette

24,134 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs West Lafayette residents hold

10,951 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+9%

Jobs based in West Lafayette, 2013 → 2023: 22,093 → 24,134. 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.