Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Bridgeport works elsewhere
The two grades for Bridgeport are D− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. There are 285 jobs in Bridgeport, and 775 of its residents work somewhere. Measured by household income, Bridgeport is behind 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Bridgeport, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Bridgeport than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Bridgeport fell from 538 in 2013 to 285 in 2023, −47%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A lot of Bridgeport workers cross into Indiana
30% of Bridgeport workers work outside Illinois, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Vincennes (10%), Vincennes Township (3%) and Patoka Township (3%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Bridgeport are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 775 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Bridgeport’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Bridgeport is better than 5% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Bridgeport’s grade.
Unemployment (8.4%) is left out: Bridgeport’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Bridgeport could be anywhere from D− to C.
The kinds of work in Bridgeport
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bridgeport, 2013 → 2023: 538 → 285. 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 Bridgeport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
10% of working residents work in Lawrenceville
Where Bridgeport clocks in
10% of workers
10% of workers
5% 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.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Bridgeport
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bridgeport workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 590 commuters (the 13% 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.
In and out of Bridgeport on a workday
On a workday 727 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 237 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Bridgeport on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
How far it is to work from Bridgeport
About 28% 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.
Most of Bridgeport commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bridgeport is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Bridgeport near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 675 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.1% of Bridgeport households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bridgeport’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200, and where Bridgeport sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,938 | Ellijay GA | 2,008 | $48K | 26.2% | 6.3% | 19% | D− |
| 4,939 | Winchester IL | 1,502 | $48K | 21.2% | 5.1% | 17% | D− |
| 4,940 | Bridgeport IL | 1,652 | $53K | 23.7% | 8.4% | 6% | D− |
| 4,941 | Adamsville TN | 2,081 | $51K | 28.6% | 4.8% | 9% | D− |
| 4,942 | Harpersfield NY | 1,419 | $52K | 18.5% | 5.1% | 15% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bridgeport, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Bridgeport
The biggest share goes to Lawrence Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bridgeport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport | – | D− | B+ | 21 min | $53,036 |
| Bridgeport Township | under 3% | D− | B | 21 min | $51,696 |
| Lawrence Township | 4% | D | A− | 22 min | $50,291 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bridgeport’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 Bridgeport: questions
What is the median household income in Bridgeport?
$53,036 (±$7,178) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bridgeport?
23.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bridgeport?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bridgeport work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lawrenceville (10%, 4 mi), Vincennes (10%, 14 mi), Robinson (5%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bridgeport walkable?
Bridgeport is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bridgeport without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bridgeport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bridgeport
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.