Work & commute · Kankakee

Work & commute in Kankakee, IL

About one in 4 of Kankakee’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Chicago (9%), Bradley (7%) and Bourbonnais (5%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

24%

2,311 of 9,685 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 7,374 Kankakee residents head out of town to work, 2,311 work right here, and 11,541 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kankakee.

7,374live here, work elsewhere

2,311live and work here

11,541work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kankakee goes to work

Kankakee (in town)right here

24%2,311

Chicago51.6 mi away

9%867

Bradley4.4 mi away

7%669

Bourbonnais5.6 mi away

5%446

Manteno10.4 mi away

3%293

Momence11.3 mi away

3%261

Joliet32.3 mi away

2%236

Momence14.9 mi away

2%169

Kankakee0.5 mi away

1%133

Springfield130.3 mi away

1%109

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%4,191

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

How far

How far Kankakee commutes

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

43%

20%

29%

43%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kankakee is balanced between jobs and homes

1.43jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.43 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Kankakee are

13,852 jobs are based in Kankakee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kankakee’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kankakee

13,852 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Kankakee residents hold

9,685 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−9%

Jobs based in Kankakee, 2013 → 2023: 15,295 → 13,852. 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.