Work & commute · Metropolis

Work & commute in Metropolis, IL

About one in 4 of Metropolis’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Paducah (22%), Calvert City (2%) and Marion (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

637 of 2,305 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 1,668 Metropolis residents head out of town to work, 637 work right here, and 1,666 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Metropolis.

1,668live here, work elsewhere

637live and work here

1,666work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Metropolis goes to work

Metropolis (in town)right here

28%637

Paducah, KY5.9 mi away

22%497

Calvert City, KY17.6 mi away

2%37

Marion42.7 mi away

2%35

Springfield189.7 mi away

1%34

Chicago328.2 mi away

1%28

Anna37.1 mi away

1%27

Evansville, IN85.7 mi away

1%26

Carbondale49.3 mi away

1%24

Mount Vernon81.4 mi away

1%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%936

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

How far

How far Metropolis commutes

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

57%

12%

25%

57%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Metropolis is balanced between jobs and homes

1.00jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Metropolis are

2,303 jobs are based in Metropolis. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Metropolis’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Metropolis

2,303 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Metropolis residents hold

2,305 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month42%

−6%

Jobs based in Metropolis, 2013 → 2023: 2,454 → 2,303. 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.