Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, IL

About one in 3 of Salem’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Salem (33%), Centralia (8%) and Mount Vernon (8%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

1,262 of 3,693 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 2,431 Salem residents head out of town to work, 1,262 work right here, and 4,324 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

2,431live here, work elsewhere

1,262live and work here

4,324work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Salem1.5 mi away

33%1,220

Centralia10.1 mi away

8%290

Mount Vernon20.6 mi away

8%277

Marion60.4 mi away

2%86

Springfield89.2 mi away

2%63

Centralia8.8 mi away

2%57

Carlyle21.7 mi away

1%48

Belleville55.4 mi away

1%48

St. Louis, MO68.6 mi away

1%45

Odin4.4 mi away

1%43

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,516

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

How far

How far Salem commutes

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

40%

21%

30%

40%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is a job hub

1.51jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

5,586 jobs are based in Salem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Salem

5,586 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Salem residents hold

3,693 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+15%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 4,851 → 5,586. 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.