With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Ava works elsewhere
1% of workers work from home, where Illinois as a whole has 16%. 82 jobs are based in Ava; 199 of its residents have a job. Only 2% work in Ava itself; outside it, Carbondale draws the most (12%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ava quiets down on a workday
On a workday 195 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 78 people come in from elsewhere.
About 430 people are in Ava on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Ava: the destinations
Where Ava clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workersLines 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.
Services make up most of the work in Ava
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ava, 2013 → 2023: 111 → 82. 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 Ava’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Ava takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ava workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 222 commuters (the 1% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ava
About 18% 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.
Next door is work for 14% of Ava
The biggest share goes to Bradley Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ava workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | – | — | — | 27 min | $55,368 |
| Bradley Township | 9% | C− | B | 28 min | $70,781 |
| Ora Township | 5% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ora Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ava’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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.
Jobs and commuting in Ava: questions
What is the median household income in Ava?
$55,368 (±$7,733) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ava?
7.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ava?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ava work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carbondale (12%, 19 mi), Murphysboro (10%, 12 mi), Bradley Township (9%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ava without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ava, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ava
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.