Work & commute · Essex

Work & commute in Essex, IL

Most working residents leave Essex for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (11%), Kankakee (10%) and Bourbonnais (5%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 358 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 354 Essex residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 72 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Essex.

354live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

72work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Essex goes to work

Chicago52.3 mi away

11%39

Kankakee18 mi away

10%36

Bourbonnais16.3 mi away

5%18

Bradley18 mi away

4%15

Joliet23.2 mi away

4%15

Wilmington9.6 mi away

4%13

Union Hill5.7 mi away

2%7

Herscher10.4 mi away

2%7

Park Forest33.4 mi away

2%7

Coal City8 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%194

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

How far

How far Essex commutes

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

15%

34%

23%

28%

15%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Essex is a commuter town

0.21jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Essex are

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

Jobs based in Essex

76 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)92%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Essex residents hold

358 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+7%

Jobs based in Essex, 2013 → 2023: 71 → 76. 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.