Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, IL

About one in 3 of Salem’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Centralia (7%), Mount Vernon (7%) and Marion (2%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

36%

1,052 of 2,939 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 1,887 Salem residents head out of town to work, 1,052 work right here, and 4,359 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

1,887live here, work elsewhere

1,052live and work here

4,359work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Salem (in town)right here

36%1,052

Centralia11.5 mi away

7%215

Mount Vernon21.8 mi away

7%212

Marion61.7 mi away

2%65

Springfield88.4 mi away

2%48

Centralia10.3 mi away

1%44

Carlyle22.5 mi away

1%42

Belleville56.3 mi away

1%36

Edwardsville56.6 mi away

1%35

St. Louis, MO69.4 mi away

1%34

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%1,156

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.

41%

21%

30%

41%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is a job hub

1.84jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

5,411 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

5,411 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Salem residents hold

2,939 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+13%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 4,773 → 5,411. 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.