Work & commute · Watseka

Work & commute in Watseka, IL

About one in 3 of Watseka’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Kankakee (5%), Chicago (4%) and Gilman (3%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

525 of 1,784 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 1,259 Watseka residents head out of town to work, 525 work right here, and 1,876 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watseka.

1,259live here, work elsewhere

525live and work here

1,876work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watseka goes to work

Watseka (in town)right here

29%525

Kankakee23.6 mi away

5%86

Chicago73.4 mi away

4%64

Gilman14.2 mi away

3%56

Peoria98.8 mi away

2%41

Bradley27.5 mi away

2%32

Champaign53.9 mi away

2%30

Urbana52.1 mi away

2%28

Danville44.2 mi away

1%22

Onarga15.3 mi away

1%21

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%879

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

How far

How far Watseka commutes

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

33%

14%

18%

35%

33%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watseka is balanced between jobs and homes

1.35jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Watseka are

2,401 jobs are based in Watseka. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watseka’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Watseka

2,401 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Watseka residents hold

1,784 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−9%

Jobs based in Watseka, 2013 → 2023: 2,650 → 2,401. 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.