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Jobs & commute in Anchor

With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Anchor works elsewhere

There are 10 jobs in Anchor; 70 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Anchor itself; outside it, Bloomington draws the most (26%, 24 miles). The average commute takes 20 minutes each way, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Anchor

On a workday 70 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.

70live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
10work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night160
Workday95
160live here− 70head out to work+ 10come in to work= 95on a workday

About 95 people are in Anchor on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.14jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Commuting out of Anchor: the destinations

Cooksville: 1 residents work here (1%)AnchorColfax: 4 residents work here (6%)Goodfield: 1 residents work here (1%)Fairbury: 1 residents work here (1%)El Paso: 1 residents work here (1%)Gibson City: 4 residents work here (6%)ChenoaPekinChampaignNormal: 14 residents work here (20%)Bloomington: 18 residents work here (26%)Peoria: 2 residents work here (3%)MurfreesboroDry Grove TownshipMartin Township: 4 residents work here (6%)BloomingtonNormalColfaxGibson CityMartin TownshipPeoriaAnchor
1
Bloomington23.5 mi away
26%18
2
Normal24.1 mi away
20%14
3
Colfax4.1 mi away
6%4
4
Gibson City10.9 mi away
6%4
5
Martin Township5.5 mi away
6%4
6
Peoria57.9 mi away
3%2
7
Cooksville9.4 mi away
1%1
8
Goodfield38 mi away
1%1
9
Fairbury12.4 mi away
1%1
10
El Paso27.8 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
29%20
The top trips

Where Anchor clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

The jobs

Mostly health care, schools and offices in Anchor

Jobs based in AnchorJobs Anchor residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%14%
Trade, transport & utilities0%26%
Services: health, schools, offices100%60%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less20%9%
$1,251–$3,333 a month10%33%
Over $3,333 a month70%59%

Who does it

29 or younger0%17%
30 to 5450%60%
55 and older50%23%
+43%

Jobs based in Anchor, 2013 → 2023: 7 → 10. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Anchor’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The daily trip from Anchor: about 20 minutes

A year of commuting
156 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Anchor20 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
21%

of Anchor workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Anchor gets to work
93%Drive alone
4%Carpool
4%Walk

Share of the 56 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

How far

How far Anchor’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi65 miBloomington: 26% · 23.5 miNormal: 20% · 24.1 miColfax: 6% · 4.1 miGibson City: 6% · 10.9 miMartin Township: 6% · 5.5 miPeoria: 3% · 57.9 miCooksville: 1% · 9.4 miGoodfield: 1% · 38 miFairbury: 1% · 12.4 miEl Paso: 1% · 27.8 miNormal 20%Colfax 6%Gibson City 6%Martin Township 6%Anchor
AnchorTop destinations (size = commuters)
13%Under 10 mi9 residents
53%10–24 mi37 residents
19%25–50 mi13 residents
16%Over 50 mi11 residents

About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
  • Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Anchor: questions

What is the median household income in Anchor?

$72,250 (±$13,318) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Anchor?

14.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Anchor?

20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Anchor work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bloomington (26%, 24 mi), Normal (20%, 24 mi), Colfax (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Anchor without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Anchor, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Anchor

Anchor home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.