Carterville has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 7% stay in Carterville for work; outside it, Carbondale is the main destination (22%, 8 miles). Employers in Carterville report 1,273 jobs, against 2,372 working residents. Carterville grades C+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Carterville apart
Commutes from Carterville are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Carterville residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
The figures behind Carterville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carterville is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #580 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Carterville’s grade up (ahead of 48% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($62,337, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carterville could be anywhere from D to A−.
The daily trip from Carterville: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carterville workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,489 commuters (the 9% 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.
Miles to work from Carterville
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.
In and out of Carterville on a workday
On a workday 2,216 residents head out to work, 156 work right here, and 1,117 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Carterville on a workday afternoon, 19% 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.
Out of Carterville to work: where people go
Where Carterville clocks in
22% of workers
19% of workers
7% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Carterville
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carterville, 2013 → 2023: 1,453 → 1,273. 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 Carterville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Carterville, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carterville is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #584 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,739 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). 9.5% of Carterville households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carterville’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Carterville ranks: 2,288th of 3,432 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 7,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Grandwood Park IL | 5,262 | $127K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,286 | Allegheny Township PA | 6,561 | $58K | 8.5% | 5.7% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,287 | Morrow GA | 6,211 | $74K | 19.1% | 8.8% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,288 | Carterville IL | 5,839 | $62K | 10.9% | 4.7% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,289 | Erwin TN | 6,019 | $47K | 12.6% | 3.2% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,290 | Hardy Township OH | 6,067 | $63K | 12.4% | 4.0% | 23% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Carterville, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
13% of Carterville works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carterville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carterville | – | C+ | C+ | 20 min | $62,337 |
| Crainville | 2% | C+ | B | 22 min | $65,461 |
| Cambria | 4% | C− | D | 21 min | $57,756 |
| Herrin | 7% | C | C | 22 min | $59,975 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Herrin. Darker towns draw more of Carterville’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 Carterville: questions
What is the median household income in Carterville?
$62,337 (±$10,559) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carterville?
10.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carterville?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carterville work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carbondale (22%, 8 mi), Marion (19%, 8 mi), Herrin (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carterville walkable?
Carterville is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carterville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carterville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carterville
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.