Work & commute · Urbana

Work & commute in Urbana, IL

About one in 5 of Urbana’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Champaign (38%), Chicago (4%) and Bloomington (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

2,493 of 12,382 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,889 Urbana residents head out of town to work, 2,493 work right here, and 18,475 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Urbana.

9,889live here, work elsewhere

2,493live and work here

18,475work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Urbana goes to work

Champaign4.1 mi away

38%4,765

Urbana (in town)right here

20%2,493

Chicago122.3 mi away

4%556

Bloomington47.9 mi away

2%195

Champaign6.1 mi away

2%194

Peoria86.8 mi away

2%188

Springfield79.8 mi away

1%182

Danville31.1 mi away

1%137

Decatur42.8 mi away

1%132

Savoy4.6 mi away

1%130

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%3,410

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

How far

How far Urbana commutes

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

64%

26%

64%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Urbana is a job hub

1.69jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Urbana are

20,968 jobs are based in Urbana. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Urbana’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Urbana

20,968 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Urbana residents hold

12,382 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+19%

Jobs based in Urbana, 2013 → 2023: 17,635 → 20,968. 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.