Work & commute · Otego

Work & commute in Otego, IL

Most working residents leave Otego for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Vandalia (11%), Effingham (9%) and St. Elmo (8%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

36 of 637 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 601 Otego residents head out of town to work, 36 work right here, and 228 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Otego.

601live here, work elsewhere

36live and work here

228work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Otego goes to work

Vandalia7.6 mi away

11%72

Effingham26.3 mi away

9%56

St. Elmo9.1 mi away

8%53

Brownstown4.3 mi away

5%35

Springfield69.1 mi away

4%26

Salem21.2 mi away

3%22

Farina12.9 mi away

3%18

Altamont15 mi away

3%16

Greenville22.3 mi away

2%14

Shelbyville34.3 mi away

2%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%314

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

How far

How far Otego commutes

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

29%

21%

30%

29%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Otego is a commuter town

0.41jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.41 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Otego are

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

Jobs based in Otego

264 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Otego residents hold

637 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+40%

Jobs based in Otego, 2013 → 2023: 189 → 264. 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.