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Jobs & commute in Dahlgren

Dahlgren has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each

Only 4% stay in Dahlgren for work; outside it, Mount Vernon is the main destination (22%, 15 miles). Employers in Dahlgren report 104 jobs; 203 of its residents have a job. For 5% of workers, the job is at home, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole.

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

Day and night

Who commutes out of Dahlgren, and who commutes in

On a workday 195 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 96 people come in from elsewhere.

195live here, work elsewhere
8live and work here
96work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night500
Workday400
500live here− 200head out to work+ 96come in to work= 400on a workday

About 400 people are in Dahlgren on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.51jobs 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

Where Dahlgren goes to work

DahlgrenCarrier MillsEldoradoMcLeansboro: 30 residents work here (15%)Fairfield: 4 residents work here (2%)CartervilleMarion: 6 residents work here (3%)Mount Vernon: 45 residents work here (22%)Springfield: 5 residents work here (2%)Crouch Township: 5 residents work here (2%)Dahlgren Township: 9 residents work here (4%)McLeansboro Township: 5 residents work here (2%)Beaver Creek Township: 5 residents work here (2%)South Twigg TownshipKnight Prairie TownshipMount VernonMcLeansboroDahlgren TownshipMarionSpringfieldCrouch TownshipDahlgren
1
Mount Vernon15 mi away
22%45
2
McLeansboro10.9 mi away
15%30
34%9
4
Dahlgren (in town)right here
4%8
5
Marion34.9 mi away
3%6
6
Springfield121.5 mi away
2%5
7
Crouch Township10.4 mi away
2%5
82%5
92%5
10
Fairfield21.1 mi away
2%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
40%81
The top trips

Where Dahlgren 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

Dahlgren works in goods: 37% of its jobs

Jobs based in DahlgrenJobs Dahlgren residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms37%30%
Trade, transport & utilities12%18%
Services: health, schools, offices52%53%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less9%16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month28%29%
Over $3,333 a month63%56%

Who does it

29 or younger17%22%
30 to 5458%52%
55 and older25%26%
−13%

Jobs based in Dahlgren, 2013 → 2023: 119 → 104. 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 Dahlgren’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The daily trip from Dahlgren: about 26 minutes

A year of commuting
198 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Dahlgren26 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

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

About 0 in 10
How Dahlgren gets to work
95%Drive alone
4%Carpool
1%Transit

Share of the 198 commuters (the 5% 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 Dahlgren, by distance

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miMount Vernon: 22% · 15 miMcLeansboro: 15% · 10.9 miDahlgren Township: 4% · 1.6 miMarion: 3% · 34.9 miSpringfield: 2% · 121.5 miCrouch Township: 2% · 10.4 miMcLeansboro Township: 2% · 11.3 miBeaver Creek Township: 2% · 13.9 miFairfield: 2% · 21.1 miMount Vernon 22%McLeansboro 15%Dahlgren Township 4%Marion 3%Springfield 2%Dahlgren
DahlgrenTop destinations (size = commuters)
11%Under 10 mi21 residents
52%10–24 mi104 residents
16%25–50 mi32 residents
22%Over 50 mi43 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 Dahlgren: questions

What is the median household income in Dahlgren?

$44,861 (±$22,870) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Dahlgren?

22.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Dahlgren?

26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Dahlgren work?

4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (22%, 15 mi), McLeansboro (15%, 11 mi), Dahlgren Township (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Dahlgren without a car?

1% 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 Dahlgren, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Dahlgren

Dahlgren 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.