Work & commute · Sheldon

Work & commute in Sheldon, IL

Most working residents leave Sheldon for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Watseka (30%), Chicago (5%) and Kankakee (4%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15 of 517 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 502 Sheldon residents head out of town to work, 15 work right here, and 93 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sheldon.

502live here, work elsewhere

15live and work here

93work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sheldon goes to work

Watseka8 mi away

30%155

Chicago76.5 mi away

5%25

Kankakee29.3 mi away

4%20

Gilman21.7 mi away

3%17

Bradley32.7 mi away

2%11

Peoria106.2 mi away

2%10

Kentland, IN8 mi away

2%10

Urbana53.6 mi away

2%9

Sheldon2.9 mi away

2%8

Champaign55.9 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%245

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

How far

How far Sheldon commutes

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

35%

14%

15%

36%

35%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

36%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sheldon is a commuter town

0.21jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sheldon are

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

Jobs based in Sheldon

108 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Sheldon residents hold

517 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−9%

Jobs based in Sheldon, 2013 → 2023: 119 → 108. 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.