Dayton has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Commuters spend 21 minutes getting to work on average; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26. There are 20 jobs in Dayton, and 241 of its residents work somewhere. 14% of workers have no commute at all; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Dayton in brief
Dayton is a place people come home to
There are 20 jobs based in Dayton, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dayton has about 50 people in it, 82% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Dayton and Ottawa trade workers both ways
Ottawa is the top workplace for Dayton residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Dayton come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 241 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How a workday changes Dayton
On a workday 241 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 20 people come in from elsewhere.
About 50 people are in Dayton on a workday afternoon, 82% 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.
17% of working residents work in Ottawa
Where Dayton clocks in
17% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Dayton
About 33% 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.
What Dayton’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 37 → 20. 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 Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 21 minutes each way for Dayton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dayton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 108 commuters (the 14% 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.
Dayton and its neighbors: 17% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Ottawa. Darker towns draw more of Dayton’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 Dayton: questions
What is the median household income in Dayton?
$73,750 (±$19,846) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dayton?
8.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dayton?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dayton work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ottawa (17%, 3 mi), Peru (6%, 18 mi), LaSalle (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dayton 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 Dayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dayton
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.