Work & commute · Alma

Work & commute in Alma, IL

Most working residents leave Alma for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Salem (17%), Mount Vernon (7%) and Farina (6%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 121 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 119 Alma residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 26 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Alma.

119live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

26work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Alma goes to work

Salem7.1 mi away

17%20

Mount Vernon28.2 mi away

7%8

Farina10.1 mi away

6%7

Centralia18 mi away

6%7

Flora23.9 mi away

4%5

Kinmundy4.6 mi away

2%3

Vandalia20.4 mi away

2%3

Marion68.3 mi away

2%3

Alma (in town)right here

2%2

Litchfield51.2 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%61

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

How far

How far Alma commutes

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

29%

25%

16%

30%

29%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Alma is a commuter town

0.23jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Alma are

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

Jobs based in Alma

28 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities86%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Alma residents hold

121 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month39%

−46%

Jobs based in Alma, 2013 → 2023: 52 → 28. 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.