Work & commute · Decatur

Work & commute in Decatur, IL

43% of Decatur’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Decatur (53%), Springfield (4%) and Chicago (3%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

7,319 of 17,010 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 9,691 Decatur residents head out of town to work, 7,319 work right here, and 19,891 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Decatur.

9,691live here, work elsewhere

7,319live and work here

19,891work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Decatur goes to work

Decatur1.5 mi away

53%9,014

Springfield36.6 mi away

4%744

Chicago152.8 mi away

3%437

Peoria71.5 mi away

2%325

Forsyth5.5 mi away

2%315

Bloomington43.5 mi away

1%247

Champaign40.6 mi away

1%228

Mount Zion9.2 mi away

1%219

Mount Zion5.8 mi away

1%199

Carbondale147.5 mi away

1%194

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%5,088

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

How far

How far Decatur commutes

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

60%

13%

25%

60%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Decatur is a job hub

1.60jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Decatur are

27,210 jobs are based in Decatur. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Decatur’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Decatur

27,210 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)39%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs Decatur residents hold

17,010 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+7%

Jobs based in Decatur, 2013 → 2023: 25,412 → 27,210. 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.