Most of Cowden commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Home is the office for 7% of workers, against 16% across Illinois. Employers in Cowden report 38 jobs; 227 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Cowden for work; outside it, Pana is the main destination (11%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Cowden stands out on work
Cowden is a place people come home to
There are 38 jobs based in Cowden, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Cowden has about 310 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. 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; with 227 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who leaves Cowden for work, and who comes in
On a workday 226 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 37 people come in from elsewhere.
About 310 people are in Cowden on a workday afternoon, 38% 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 Cowden’s workers travel
About 30% 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.
The towns that employ Cowden’s residents
Where Cowden clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
9% 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.
What Cowden’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cowden, 2013 → 2023: 143 → 38. 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 Cowden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Cowden: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cowden workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 176 commuters (the 7% 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.
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 Cowden: questions
What is the median household income in Cowden?
$62,031 (±$10,852) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cowden?
20.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cowden?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cowden work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pana (11%, 16 mi), Shelbyville (10%, 12 mi), Effingham (9%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cowden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cowden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cowden
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.