Work & commute · Westchester

Work & commute in Westchester, IN

Most working residents leave Westchester for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Chesterton (13%), Valparaiso (10%) and Portage (7%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

1,635 of 9,081 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,446 Westchester residents head out of town to work, 1,635 work right here, and 8,980 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Westchester.

7,446live here, work elsewhere

1,635live and work here

8,980work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Westchester goes to work

Chesterton2.5 mi away

13%1,199

Valparaiso10.7 mi away

10%919

Portage6.4 mi away

7%601

Porter0.8 mi away

6%571

Michigan City11.7 mi away

6%501

Gary14.6 mi away

4%393

Chicago, IL34.6 mi away

4%375

Merrillville17 mi away

3%307

Hammond21.9 mi away

3%303

East Chicago19.7 mi away

3%256

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%3,656

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

How far

How far Westchester commutes

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

40%

37%

10%

13%

40%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Westchester is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Westchester are

10,615 jobs are based in Westchester. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Westchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Westchester

10,615 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)43%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Westchester residents hold

9,081 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−9%

Jobs based in Westchester, 2013 → 2023: 11,667 → 10,615. 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.