Work & commute · Kent

Work & commute in Kent, IL

Most working residents leave Kent for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Freeport (14%), Lena (8%) and Erin (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

30 of 266 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 236 Kent residents head out of town to work, 30 work right here, and 635 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kent.

236live here, work elsewhere

30live and work here

635work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kent goes to work

Freeport12.1 mi away

14%38

Lena4.1 mi away

8%22

Kent (in town)right here

8%21

Erin4.4 mi away

4%11

Chicago116.8 mi away

3%9

Rockford41.3 mi away

3%7

Pearl City4.7 mi away

2%6

Stockton7.2 mi away

2%5

DeKalb63.6 mi away

2%5

Monroe, WI22.3 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%137

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

How far

How far Kent commutes

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

31%

33%

10%

26%

31%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kent is a job hub

2.50jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Kent are

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

Jobs based in Kent

665 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)70%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)20%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Kent residents hold

266 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+123%

Jobs based in Kent, 2013 → 2023: 298 → 665. 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.