Work & commute · Detroit

Work & commute in Detroit, IL

Most working residents leave Detroit for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Pittsfield (14%), Jacksonville (6%) and Springfield (5%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 100 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 97 Detroit residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 56 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Detroit.

97live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

56work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Detroit goes to work

Pittsfield8.5 mi away

14%14

Jacksonville23.7 mi away

6%6

Springfield54.9 mi away

5%5

Quincy44.6 mi away

4%4

Peoria95.7 mi away

4%4

Spring Creek12.2 mi away

4%4

Mount Sterling26.5 mi away

3%3

Decatur92.8 mi away

3%3

Montezuma5.7 mi away

3%3

Pleasant Hill16.7 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%52

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

How far

How far Detroit commutes

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

22%

21%

24%

32%

22%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Detroit is a commuter town

0.59jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Detroit are

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

Jobs based in Detroit

59 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities47%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less34%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Detroit residents hold

100 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

−5%

Jobs based in Detroit, 2013 → 2023: 62 → 59. 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.