Work & commute · Watson

Work & commute in Watson, IL

Most working residents leave Watson for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Effingham (40%), Teutopolis (8%) and Dieterich (4%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

107 of 1,559 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,452 Watson residents head out of town to work, 107 work right here, and 1,594 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watson.

1,452live here, work elsewhere

107live and work here

1,594work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watson goes to work

Effingham5.4 mi away

40%630

Teutopolis6.4 mi away

8%125

Dieterich7.6 mi away

4%63

Springfield79 mi away

3%54

Watson (in town)right here

3%53

Altamont12 mi away

2%34

Chicago197.8 mi away

2%24

Mattoon31 mi away

1%21

Teutopolis6 mi away

1%15

Belleville87.2 mi away

1%13

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%527

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

How far

How far Watson commutes

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

61%

27%

61%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watson is balanced between jobs and homes

1.09jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Watson are

1,701 jobs are based in Watson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Watson

1,701 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Watson residents hold

1,559 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+32%

Jobs based in Watson, 2013 → 2023: 1,292 → 1,701. 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.