Work & commute · Central

Work & commute in Central, IL

Most working residents leave Central for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Centralia (23%), Mount Vernon (7%) and Salem (6%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

9 of 418 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 409 Central residents head out of town to work, 9 work right here, and 196 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Central.

409live here, work elsewhere

9live and work here

196work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Central goes to work

Centralia1.8 mi away

23%98

Mount Vernon19.8 mi away

7%31

Salem10.6 mi away

6%27

Centralia3.5 mi away

5%19

Nashville20 mi away

4%17

Central City (in town)right here

2%9

Edwardsville49.3 mi away

2%9

Odin6.1 mi away

2%8

Hoyleton10.5 mi away

2%7

Flora36.2 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%186

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

How far

How far Central commutes

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

38%

23%

15%

24%

38%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Central is a commuter town

0.49jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Central are

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

Jobs based in Central

205 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month31%

Jobs Central residents hold

418 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month44%

+58%

Jobs based in Central, 2013 → 2023: 130 → 205. 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.