Work & commute · West

Work & commute in West, IL

Most working residents leave West for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Benton (14%), Mount Vernon (14%) and Marion (9%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 267 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 263 West residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 528 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West.

263live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

528work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West goes to work

Benton2.1 mi away

14%38

Mount Vernon22.1 mi away

14%38

Marion18.1 mi away

9%24

Carbondale24.1 mi away

6%15

Ina10.9 mi away

4%10

Browning2.2 mi away

4%10

Chester48.1 mi away

3%7

Herrin14.4 mi away

3%7

West Frankfort6.7 mi away

2%5

West City (in town)right here

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%109

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

How far

How far West commutes

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

29%

42%

11%

18%

29%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West is a job hub

1.99jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West are

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

Jobs based in West

532 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities74%

Services (health, schools, offices…)23%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month57%

Over $3,333 a month23%

Jobs West residents hold

267 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+10%

Jobs based in West, 2013 → 2023: 483 → 532. 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.