Work & commute · Coal

Work & commute in Coal, IL

Most working residents leave Coal for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Joliet (8%), Chicago (8%) and Morris (7%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

294 of 2,862 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,568 Coal residents head out of town to work, 294 work right here, and 1,897 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Coal.

2,568live here, work elsewhere

294live and work here

1,897work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Coal goes to work

Coal City (in town)right here

10%294

Joliet17.7 mi away

8%243

Chicago49.2 mi away

8%242

Morris10.3 mi away

7%206

Channahon9.9 mi away

4%116

Wilmington6.7 mi away

2%63

Goose Lake5.9 mi away

2%50

Naperville32.9 mi away

2%46

Minooka11.7 mi away

2%44

Downers Grove37.9 mi away

2%44

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%1,514

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

How far

How far Coal commutes

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

28%

25%

28%

19%

28%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Coal is balanced between jobs and homes

0.77jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Coal are

2,191 jobs are based in Coal. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Coal’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Coal

2,191 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities47%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs Coal residents hold

2,862 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

−4%

Jobs based in Coal, 2013 → 2023: 2,290 → 2,191. 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.