Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Where Energy earns its living
7% of workers work from home (Illinois 16%). Only 1% stay in Energy for work; outside it, Marion is the main destination (26%, 5 miles). Commuters spend 21 minutes getting to work on average; the Illinois average is 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Energy apart
Most Energy residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Energy are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
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 340 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Short hops and long hauls from Energy
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.
Commuting from Energy: about 21 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Energy workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 396 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.
How many people are in Energy by day
On a workday 336 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 236 people come in from elsewhere.
About 860 people are in Energy on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 Energy to work: where people go
Where Energy clocks in
26% of workers
17% of workers
10% 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.
Inside Energy’s 240 jobs
240 jobs are based in Energy.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Energy, 2013 → 2023: 301 → 240. 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 Energy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Next door is work for 17% of Energy
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Herrin. Darker towns draw more of Energy’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 Energy: questions
What is the median household income in Energy?
$65,357 (±$23,677) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Energy?
15.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Energy?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Energy work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marion (26%, 5 mi), Herrin (17%, 2 mi), Carbondale (10%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Energy without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Energy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Energy
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.