Work & commute · Empire

Work & commute in Empire, IL

Most working residents leave Empire for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Bloomington (31%), Le Roy (13%) and Normal (11%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

254 of 1,772 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,518 Empire residents head out of town to work, 254 work right here, and 571 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Empire.

1,518live here, work elsewhere

254live and work here

571work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Empire goes to work

Bloomington15.2 mi away

31%557

Le Roy0.9 mi away

13%238

Normal18.1 mi away

11%191

Peoria54 mi away

3%49

Chicago117.4 mi away

2%41

Champaign29.2 mi away

2%28

Farmer City8.2 mi away

2%27

Springfield60.7 mi away

1%26

Downs8.7 mi away

1%25

Clinton17.5 mi away

1%21

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%569

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

How far

How far Empire commutes

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

19%

49%

12%

21%

19%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Empire is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Empire are

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

Jobs based in Empire

825 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities37%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less28%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Empire residents hold

1,772 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+1%

Jobs based in Empire, 2013 → 2023: 815 → 825. 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.