Work & commute · Lincoln

Work & commute in Lincoln, IL

About one in 3 of Lincoln’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Springfield (14%), West Lincoln (8%) and Decatur (3%). Half commute less than 27 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

1,453 of 4,683 working residents

Typical commute

27 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 3,230 Lincoln residents head out of town to work, 1,453 work right here, and 2,629 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lincoln.

3,230live here, work elsewhere

1,453live and work here

2,629work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lincoln goes to work

Lincoln (in town)right here

31%1,453

Springfield28.8 mi away

14%662

West Lincoln3.6 mi away

8%393

Decatur30.8 mi away

3%163

Chicago145.9 mi away

3%128

Bloomington30.8 mi away

2%112

Peoria43.5 mi away

2%72

Broadwell5.4 mi away

1%69

Mount Pulaski10.7 mi away

1%60

Jacksonville54.2 mi away

1%52

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%1,519

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

How far

How far Lincoln commutes

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

42%

27%

24%

42%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

27%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lincoln is balanced between jobs and homes

0.87jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lincoln are

4,082 jobs are based in Lincoln. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lincoln

4,082 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Lincoln residents hold

4,683 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−21%

Jobs based in Lincoln, 2013 → 2023: 5,152 → 4,082. 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.