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Jobs & commute in Chestnut

Chestnut has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

0% of workers work from home, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. 7 jobs are based in Chestnut, and 88 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Chestnut for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (17%, 30 miles).

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

Day and night

Chestnut by day and by night

On a workday 88 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 7 people come in from elsewhere.

88live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
7work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night350
Workday270
350live here− 88head out to work+ 7come in to work= 270on a workday

About 270 people are in Chestnut on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.08jobs 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

Out of Chestnut to work: where people go

Greenwood Village: 1 residents work here (1%)Mechanicsburg: 1 residents work here (1%)Mount Pulaski: 11 residents work here (13%)TuscolaTroyLincoln: 13 residents work here (15%)Jacksonville: 2 residents work here (2%)Decatur: 13 residents work here (15%)Chicago: 6 residents work here (7%)Springfield: 15 residents work here (17%)West Lincoln Township: 2 residents work here (2%)Broadwell Township: 2 residents work here (2%)ChestnutSpringfieldLincolnDecaturMount PulaskiChicagoJacksonvilleChestnut
1
Springfield30.3 mi away
17%15
2
Lincoln11.8 mi away
15%13
3
Decatur19.2 mi away
15%13
4
Mount Pulaski5.9 mi away
13%11
5
Chicago146 mi away
7%6
6
Jacksonville59.8 mi away
2%2
72%2
8
Broadwell Township13.2 mi away
2%2
91%1
10
Mechanicsburg21.3 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
25%22
The top trips

Where Chestnut 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

Most jobs in Chestnut are in services

Jobs based in ChestnutJobs Chestnut residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%15%
Trade, transport & utilities0%19%
Services: health, schools, offices100%66%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month71%40%
Over $3,333 a month29%45%

Who does it

29 or younger0%23%
30 to 5429%53%
55 and older71%24%
+0%

Jobs based in Chestnut, 2013 → 2023: 7 → 7. 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 Chestnut’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The trip to work from Chestnut: about 23 minutes

A year of commuting
173 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Chestnut23 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

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

About 0 in 10
How Chestnut gets to work
93%Drive alone
7%Carpool

Share of the 178 commuters (the 0% 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

The commute from Chestnut, by distance

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miSpringfield: 17% · 30.3 miLincoln: 15% · 11.8 miDecatur: 15% · 19.2 miMount Pulaski: 13% · 5.9 miChicago: 7% · 146 miJacksonville: 2% · 59.8 miWest Lincoln Township: 2% · 15.3 miBroadwell Township: 2% · 13.2 miGreenwood Village: 1% · 833.8 miMechanicsburg: 1% · 21.3 miSpringfield 17%Lincoln 15%Decatur 15%Mount Pulaski 13%Chicago 7%Chestnut
ChestnutTop destinations (size = commuters)
13%Under 10 mi11 residents
41%10–24 mi36 residents
25%25–50 mi22 residents
22%Over 50 mi19 residents

About 22% 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 Chestnut: questions

What is the median household income in Chestnut?

$54,091 (±$10,002) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Chestnut?

17.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Chestnut?

23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Chestnut work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (17%, 30 mi), Lincoln (15%, 12 mi), Decatur (15%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Chestnut 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 Chestnut, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Chestnut

Chestnut 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.