Work & commute · Peru

Work & commute in Peru, IL

About one in 5 of Peru’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Peru (22%), LaSalle (11%) and Ottawa (5%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

957 of 4,725 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 3,768 Peru residents head out of town to work, 957 work right here, and 5,601 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Peru.

3,768live here, work elsewhere

957live and work here

5,601work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Peru goes to work

Peru2.3 mi away

22%1,063

LaSalle2.1 mi away

11%511

Ottawa16.3 mi away

5%254

Spring Valley2.5 mi away

4%189

Chicago82.9 mi away

4%184

Oglesby4 mi away

3%153

Peoria46.9 mi away

2%88

Mendota16.1 mi away

2%78

Princeton17.5 mi away

1%65

Rockford64.7 mi away

1%51

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%2,089

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

How far

How far Peru commutes

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

44%

14%

34%

44%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

34%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Peru is balanced between jobs and homes

1.39jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Peru are

6,558 jobs are based in Peru. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Peru’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Peru

6,558 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities35%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Peru residents hold

4,725 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−7%

Jobs based in Peru, 2013 → 2023: 7,044 → 6,558. 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.