Work & commute · Normal

Work & commute in Normal, IL

About one in 4 of Normal’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bloomington (35%), Peoria (4%) and Chicago (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

5,201 of 20,388 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 15,187 Normal residents head out of town to work, 5,201 work right here, and 21,644 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Normal.

15,187live here, work elsewhere

5,201live and work here

21,644work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Normal goes to work

Bloomington3.3 mi away

35%7,163

Normal (in town)right here

26%5,201

Peoria36.5 mi away

4%807

Chicago113.6 mi away

3%687

Urbana50.6 mi away

2%341

Springfield61 mi away

2%323

Champaign47.1 mi away

1%246

Decatur46 mi away

1%199

Morton25.7 mi away

1%117

Naperville95.3 mi away

1%117

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%5,187

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

How far

How far Normal commutes

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

62%

13%

23%

62%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Normal is balanced between jobs and homes

1.32jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Normal are

26,845 jobs are based in Normal. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Normal’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Normal

26,845 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Normal residents hold

20,388 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+25%

Jobs based in Normal, 2013 → 2023: 21,451 → 26,845. 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.