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Jobs & commute in Lake City

With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Lake City works elsewhere

Hardly any work in Lake City; the top destination outside it is Sullivan (13%, 12 miles). There are 11 jobs in Lake City; 30 of its residents have a job. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers; Illinois has 16%.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Lake City quiets down on a workday

On a workday 30 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 11 people come in from elsewhere.

30live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
11work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night92
Workday73
92live here− 30head out to work+ 11come in to work= 73on a workday

About 73 people are in Lake City on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.37jobs 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 2024, primary jobs.

The commute map

Commuting out of Lake City: the destinations

LibertyRankinToledo: 1 residents work here (3%)Roodhouse: 1 residents work here (3%)PawneeNeoga: 1 residents work here (3%)Brighton: 1 residents work here (3%)Sullivan: 4 residents work here (13%)Monticello: 1 residents work here (3%)Creve CoeurMount Zion: 1 residents work here (3%)TaylorvilleCarbondale: 2 residents work here (7%)CollinsvilleDecatur: 4 residents work here (13%)Mount Zion TownshipBourbon Township: 2 residents work here (7%)Sullivan TownshipLake CitySullivanDecaturCarbondaleBourbon TownshipToledoRoodhouseLake City
1
Sullivan12.4 mi away
13%4
2
Decatur13.4 mi away
13%4
3
Carbondale143 mi away
7%2
4
Bourbon Township16.8 mi away
7%2
5
Toledo41.8 mi away
3%1
6
Roodhouse90.1 mi away
3%1
7
Neoga33.1 mi away
3%1
8
Brighton90.5 mi away
3%1
9
Monticello20.8 mi away
3%1
10
Mount Zion9.1 mi away
3%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
40%12
The top trips

Where Lake City 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

What Lake City’s employers do

Jobs based in Lake CityJobs Lake City residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%30%
Trade, transport & utilities100%30%
Services: health, schools, offices0%40%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less18%17%
$1,251–$3,333 a month64%30%
Over $3,333 a month18%53%

Who does it

29 or younger18%27%
30 to 5445%47%
55 and older36%27%
+175%

Jobs based in Lake City, 2014 → 2024: 4 → 11. 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 2024.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lake City’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Working from home in Lake City

Working from home
0%

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

About 0 in 10
How Lake City gets to work
100%Drive alone

Share of the 58 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

Lake City’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miSullivan: 13% · 12.4 miDecatur: 13% · 13.4 miCarbondale: 7% · 143 miBourbon Township: 7% · 16.8 miToledo: 3% · 41.8 miRoodhouse: 3% · 90.1 miNeoga: 3% · 33.1 miBrighton: 3% · 90.5 miMonticello: 3% · 20.8 miMount Zion: 3% · 9.1 miSullivan 13%Decatur 13%Carbondale 7%Toledo 3%Lake City
Lake CityTop destinations (size = commuters)
3%Under 10 mi1 residents
40%10–24 mi12 residents
27%25–50 mi8 residents
30%Over 50 mi9 residents

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 2024.

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 2024, 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 Lake City: questions

What is the poverty rate in Lake City?

0.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Lake City work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sullivan (13%, 12 mi), Decatur (13%, 13 mi), Carbondale (7%, 143 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Lake City

Lake City home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.