Work & commute · Charleston

Work & commute in Charleston, IL

About one in 3 of Charleston’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Mattoon (14%), Lafayette (5%) and Champaign (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

2,013 of 6,409 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 4,396 Charleston residents head out of town to work, 2,013 work right here, and 5,377 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Charleston.

4,396live here, work elsewhere

2,013live and work here

5,377work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Charleston goes to work

Charleston (in town)right here

31%2,013

Mattoon9.9 mi away

14%894

Lafayette6.1 mi away

5%302

Champaign43.8 mi away

4%243

Effingham32.1 mi away

2%150

Chicago164.6 mi away

2%120

Springfield80.9 mi away

2%113

Urbana43.2 mi away

2%98

Charleston0.6 mi away

1%95

Paris27.5 mi away

1%73

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%2,308

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

How far

How far Charleston commutes

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

43%

17%

16%

23%

43%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Charleston is balanced between jobs and homes

1.15jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Charleston are

7,390 jobs are based in Charleston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Charleston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Charleston

7,390 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Charleston residents hold

6,409 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−10%

Jobs based in Charleston, 2013 → 2023: 8,210 → 7,390. 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.