Work & commute · Fairfield

Work & commute in Fairfield, IL

About one in 3 of Fairfield’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Albion (7%), Mount Vernon (6%) and Flora (4%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

638 of 2,013 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 1,375 Fairfield residents head out of town to work, 638 work right here, and 1,792 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fairfield.

1,375live here, work elsewhere

638live and work here

1,792work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fairfield goes to work

Fairfield (in town)right here

32%638

Albion17.1 mi away

7%134

Mount Vernon29.9 mi away

6%126

Flora20.4 mi away

4%79

Carmi23.1 mi away

2%45

Salem36 mi away

2%42

Big Mound5.2 mi away

2%36

Chicago241.6 mi away

2%35

Springfield119 mi away

1%24

Grover3.8 mi away

1%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%831

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

How far

How far Fairfield commutes

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

37%

19%

17%

27%

37%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fairfield is balanced between jobs and homes

1.21jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Fairfield are

2,430 jobs are based in Fairfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fairfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fairfield

2,430 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Fairfield residents hold

2,013 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−21%

Jobs based in Fairfield, 2013 → 2023: 3,093 → 2,430. 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.