Work & commute · Barren

Work & commute in Barren, IL

Most working residents leave Barren for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Mount Vernon (19%), Goode (8%) and Sesser (7%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 183 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 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 180 Barren residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 132 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Barren.

180live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

132work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Barren goes to work

Mount Vernon17.3 mi away

19%34

Goode5.1 mi away

8%14

Sesser3.5 mi away

7%13

Benton5.7 mi away

5%9

Marion23.4 mi away

5%9

Herrin18.9 mi away

2%4

Ora26 mi away

2%4

Denning11.1 mi away

2%4

Christopher7.6 mi away

2%3

Murphysboro28 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%86

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

How far

How far Barren commutes

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

26%

42%

10%

22%

26%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Barren is a commuter town

0.74jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Barren are

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

Jobs based in Barren

135 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)53%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Barren residents hold

183 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+47%

Jobs based in Barren, 2013 → 2023: 92 → 135. 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.