Work & commute · Alton

Work & commute in Alton, IL

About one in 5 of Alton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Edwardsville (7%), St. Louis (6%) and Godfrey (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

2,235 of 10,633 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,398 Alton residents head out of town to work, 2,235 work right here, and 10,572 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Alton.

8,398live here, work elsewhere

2,235live and work here

10,572work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Alton goes to work

Alton (in town)right here

21%2,235

Edwardsville11.7 mi away

7%718

St. Louis, MO19.2 mi away

6%667

Godfrey5.1 mi away

5%554

Granite City12.1 mi away

3%294

East Alton2.6 mi away

3%282

Wood River4.8 mi away

2%260

Chicago240.7 mi away

2%223

Belleville28.2 mi away

2%213

Fairview Heights22.7 mi away

2%163

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%5,024

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

How far

How far Alton commutes

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

39%

36%

16%

39%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Alton is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Alton are

12,807 jobs are based in Alton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Alton

12,807 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Alton residents hold

10,633 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−6%

Jobs based in Alton, 2013 → 2023: 13,688 → 12,807. 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.