Work & commute · Springfield

Work & commute in Springfield, IL

Most working residents leave Springfield for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Springfield (57%), Chicago (2%) and Peoria (1%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

84 of 2,318 working residents

Typical commute

5 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 2,234 Springfield residents head out of town to work, 84 work right here, and 2,116 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Springfield.

2,234live here, work elsewhere

84live and work here

2,116work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Springfield goes to work

Springfield3.9 mi away

57%1,329

Springfield (in town)right here

2%53

Chicago171.8 mi away

2%49

Peoria62.6 mi away

1%34

Decatur38.3 mi away

1%28

Sherman3.7 mi away

1%27

Woodside8 mi away

1%27

Riverton6.3 mi away

1%24

Bloomington56.6 mi away

1%23

Carbondale148.6 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%702

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

How far

How far Springfield commutes

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

66%

26%

66%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Springfield is balanced between jobs and homes

0.95jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.95 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Springfield are

2,200 jobs are based in Springfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Springfield

2,200 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Springfield residents hold

2,318 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+20%

Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,840 → 2,200. 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.