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Jobs & commute in Brooklyn

With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Brooklyn works elsewhere

Only 2% stay in Brooklyn for work; outside it, St. Louis is the main destination (19%, 4 miles). Brooklyn has 65 jobs for 183 working residents. The average commute takes 25 minutes each way, next to 28 for Illinois and 26 for the U.S.

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

65 jobs based here
Household income
$31K
median · Illinois $83K
Poverty
44.3%
Illinois 11.8%
Unemployment
13.5%
Illinois 5.8% · U.S. 5.2%
Time each way
25 min
Illinois 28 · U.S. 26
Work in town
2%
3 of 183 working residents
Work from home
21%
Illinois 16% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

Brooklyn by day and by night

On a workday 180 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 62 people come in from elsewhere.

180live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
62work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night630
Workday510
630live here− 180head out to work+ 62come in to work= 510on a workday

About 510 people are in Brooklyn on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.36jobs 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 Brooklyn: the destinations

BrooklynVeniceFairmont CitySwansea: 4 residents work here (2%)Fairview Heights: 6 residents work here (3%)East St. Louis: 20 residents work here (11%)MadisonShilohCahokia Heights: 5 residents work here (3%)CollinsvilleAltonBelleville: 7 residents work here (4%)Edwardsville: 7 residents work here (4%)Granite City: 7 residents work here (4%)Chicago: 6 residents work here (3%)University CityTown and Country: 5 residents work here (3%)St. Louis: 34 residents work here (19%)St. LouisEast St. LouisBellevilleEdwardsvilleGranite CityFairview HeightsBrooklyn
1
St. Louis, MO4.3 mi away
19%34
2
East St. Louis3.3 mi away
11%20
3
Belleville13.5 mi away
4%7
4
Edwardsville13.5 mi away
4%7
5
Granite City5.7 mi away
4%7
6
Fairview Heights9.7 mi away
3%6
7
Chicago255.9 mi away
3%6
8
Cahokia Heights5.7 mi away
3%5
9
Town and Country, MO16.7 mi away
3%5
10
Swansea12 mi away
2%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
45%82
The top trips

Where Brooklyn clocks in

19% of workers
4.3 mi awaySt. Louis, MO34 Brooklyn residents work here · Jobs & commute →
11% of workers
3.3 mi awayEast St. Louis20 Brooklyn residents work here · Jobs & commute →
4% of workers
13.5 mi awayBelleville7 Brooklyn residents work here · Jobs & commute →

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 services: health care, schools and offices

Jobs based in BrooklynJobs Brooklyn residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%7%
Trade, transport & utilities0%17%
Services: health, schools, offices100%75%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less29%21%
$1,251–$3,333 a month40%45%
Over $3,333 a month31%34%

Who does it

29 or younger22%24%
30 to 5440%54%
55 and older38%22%
−25%

Jobs based in Brooklyn, 2013 → 2023: 87 → 65. 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 Brooklyn’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 25 minutes to work from Brooklyn

A year of commuting
193 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Brooklyn25 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
21%

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

About 2 in 10
How Brooklyn gets to work
77%Drive alone
21%Carpool
3%Transit

Share of the 192 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

Near or far: the trip to work from Brooklyn

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miSt. Louis: 19% · 4.3 miEast St. Louis: 11% · 3.3 miBelleville: 4% · 13.5 miEdwardsville: 4% · 13.5 miGranite City: 4% · 5.7 miFairview Heights: 3% · 9.7 miChicago: 3% · 255.9 miCahokia Heights: 3% · 5.7 miTown and Country: 3% · 16.7 miSwansea: 2% · 12 miSt. Louis 19%East St. Louis 11%Belleville 4%Edwardsville 4%Granite City 4%Brooklyn
BrooklynTop destinations (size = commuters)
51%Under 10 mi90 residents
28%10–24 mi50 residents
4%25–50 mi7 residents
17%Over 50 mi30 residents

About 17% 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

The towns around Brooklyn

Madison: few work hereFairmont City: few work hereVenice: few work hereMadisonFairmont CityVeniceBrooklyn
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Fairmont City17 min
Madison18 min
Venice22 min
Brooklyn25 min
Madisonunder 3% of BrooklynFairmont Cityunder 3% of BrooklynVeniceunder 3% of Brooklyn

Jobs & commute next door

TownBrooklyn workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Brooklyn–——25 min$30,673
Madisonunder 3%C−C18 min$49,326
Fairmont Cityunder 3%B−B−17 min$48,147
Veniceunder 3%C−B+22 min$32,066

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Brooklyn’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

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 Brooklyn: questions

What is the median household income in Brooklyn?

$30,673 (±$14,270) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Brooklyn?

44.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Brooklyn?

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

Where do people who live in Brooklyn work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (19%, 4 mi), East St. Louis (11%, 3 mi), Belleville (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Brooklyn without a car?

3% of commuters take transit and 23% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Brooklyn

Brooklyn home →
$904median rent
HousingLive where you work?Homes and rent in Brooklyn
25min commute
HandbookGetting around BrooklynRoads, buses, parking and the basics
shortest commutes
RankingsTop towns in ILShortest commutes, work from home & more

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.