Work & commute · East Nelson

Work & commute in East Nelson, IL

Most working residents leave East Nelson for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Arthur (14%), Sullivan (13%) and Bourbon (7%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

8 of 448 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 440 East Nelson residents head out of town to work, 8 work right here, and 260 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in East Nelson.

440live here, work elsewhere

8live and work here

260work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where East Nelson goes to work

Arthur10.8 mi away

14%64

Sullivan4.5 mi away

13%59

Bourbon11.5 mi away

7%33

Mattoon11 mi away

5%24

Decatur29.2 mi away

4%16

Chicago163.1 mi away

3%15

Jonathan Creek6 mi away

3%15

Bloomington67 mi away

3%12

Springfield61.1 mi away

3%12

Charleston19.8 mi away

2%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%187

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

How far

How far East Nelson commutes

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

32%

30%

29%

32%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

East Nelson is a commuter town

0.60jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in East Nelson are

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

Jobs based in East Nelson

268 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)81%

Trade, transport & utilities1%

Services (health, schools, offices…)18%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month69%

Jobs East Nelson residents hold

448 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)38%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+50%

Jobs based in East Nelson, 2013 → 2023: 179 → 268. 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.