Work & commute · Benton

Work & commute in Benton, IL

Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Benton (18%), Mount Vernon (14%) and Marion (8%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

606 of 3,249 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,643 Benton residents head out of town to work, 606 work right here, and 1,691 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Benton.

2,643live here, work elsewhere

606live and work here

1,691work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Benton goes to work

Benton2.8 mi away

18%579

Mount Vernon22.1 mi away

14%452

Marion18.5 mi away

8%274

West Frankfort7.5 mi away

3%111

Carbondale27.1 mi away

3%104

Herrin16.3 mi away

2%69

Springfield130.8 mi away

2%64

Ina10.7 mi away

2%60

West City4.3 mi away

2%57

Benton (in town)right here

2%49

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%1,430

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

How far

How far Benton commutes

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

33%

36%

12%

19%

33%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Benton is a commuter town

0.71jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Benton are

2,297 jobs are based in Benton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Benton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Benton

2,297 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Benton residents hold

3,249 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−1%

Jobs based in Benton, 2013 → 2023: 2,331 → 2,297. 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.