Work & commute · Bloomington

Work & commute in Bloomington, IL

46% of Bloomington’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Normal (21%), Peoria (3%) and Chicago (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

46%

16,539 of 35,966 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 19,427 Bloomington residents head out of town to work, 16,539 work right here, and 32,894 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bloomington.

19,427live here, work elsewhere

16,539live and work here

32,894work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bloomington goes to work

Bloomington (in town)right here

46%16,539

Normal3.3 mi away

21%7,479

Peoria38.9 mi away

3%1,088

Chicago115.4 mi away

3%1,047

Urbana47.9 mi away

1%508

Springfield59.2 mi away

1%436

Champaign44.4 mi away

1%409

Decatur42.9 mi away

1%278

Naperville97.5 mi away

1%182

Morton27.8 mi away

0%164

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%7,836

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

How far

How far Bloomington commutes

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

68%

11%

19%

68%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bloomington is balanced between jobs and homes

1.37jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bloomington are

49,433 jobs are based in Bloomington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bloomington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bloomington

49,433 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Bloomington residents hold

35,966 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month65%

−9%

Jobs based in Bloomington, 2013 → 2023: 54,132 → 49,433. 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.