Work & commute · Buffalo

Work & commute in Buffalo, IL

Most working residents leave Buffalo for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Dixon (15%), Polo (10%) and Sterling (8%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

131 of 1,165 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 1,034 Buffalo residents head out of town to work, 131 work right here, and 457 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Buffalo.

1,034live here, work elsewhere

131live and work here

457work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Buffalo goes to work

Dixon10.9 mi away

15%177

Polo0.6 mi away

10%118

Sterling14.4 mi away

8%91

Chicago97.4 mi away

5%54

Rockford32.1 mi away

4%51

Oregon12.1 mi away

4%42

Sterling13.3 mi away

3%38

Dixon9.9 mi away

2%27

Freeport21.2 mi away

2%26

Oregon-Nashua12.3 mi away

2%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%522

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

How far

How far Buffalo commutes

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

17%

46%

13%

25%

17%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Buffalo is a commuter town

0.50jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Buffalo are

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

Jobs based in Buffalo

588 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Buffalo residents hold

1,165 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+4%

Jobs based in Buffalo, 2013 → 2023: 565 → 588. 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.