Work & commute · West Salem

Work & commute in West Salem, IL

Most working residents leave West Salem for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Albion (26%), Olney (6%) and Olney (5%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

8 of 278 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 270 West Salem residents head out of town to work, 8 work right here, and 76 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Salem.

270live here, work elsewhere

8live and work here

76work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Salem goes to work

Albion10.3 mi away

26%71

Olney14.9 mi away

6%16

Olney13.8 mi away

5%13

Mount Carmel14.7 mi away

4%12

Springfield124 mi away

3%9

Patoka, IN25.7 mi away

3%9

West Salem (in town)right here

3%8

Evansville, IN44.9 mi away

3%7

Fairfield21.9 mi away

2%5

Marion74.2 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%123

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

How far

How far West Salem commutes

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

12%

48%

13%

27%

12%Under 10 mi

48%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Salem is a commuter town

0.30jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.30 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in West Salem are

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

Jobs based in West Salem

84 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less35%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month30%

Jobs West Salem residents hold

278 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−26%

Jobs based in West Salem, 2013 → 2023: 113 → 84. 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.