Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Earning a living in Mount Vernon Township
Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers; Illinois has 16%. About one in five stay in Mount Vernon Township for work; outside it, Mount Vernon is the main destination (35%, 3 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 16 minutes (Illinois 28, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Mount Vernon Township and work: the main findings
Much of Mount Vernon Township works one town over
49% of working residents work in a town that borders Mount Vernon Township: Mount Vernon (35%) and Dodds Township (14%). Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Mount Vernon Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Mount Vernon Township fell from 9,471 in 2014 to 4,255 in 2024, −55%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Mount Vernon Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Mount Vernon Township workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The 4,255 jobs based in Mount Vernon Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mount Vernon Township, 2014 → 2024: 9,471 → 4,255. 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 Mount Vernon Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Mount Vernon Township takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mount Vernon Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,240 commuters (the 3% 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.
Who commutes out of Mount Vernon Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,386 residents head out to work, 909 work right here, and 3,346 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Mount Vernon Township to work: where people go
Where Mount Vernon Township clocks in
35% of workers
3% 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.
The commute from Mount Vernon Township, by distance
About 27% 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.
Next door is work for 49% of Mount Vernon Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mount Vernon Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon Township | – | — | — | 16 min | $56,971 |
| Shiloh Township | under 2% | C | C | 14 min | $70,031 |
| Dodds Township | 14% | C+ | C− | 21 min | $62,025 |
| Field Township | under 2% | C | D− | 25 min | $70,284 |
| Webber Township | under 2% | C− | D | 28 min | $59,241 |
| Farrington Township | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Mount Vernon | 35% | C− | C+ | 14 min | $55,357 |
Same-state neighbors only. Farrington Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Mount Vernon. Darker towns draw more of Mount Vernon Township’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 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.
Jobs and commuting in Mount Vernon Township: questions
What is the median household income in Mount Vernon Township?
$56,971 (±$4,304) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mount Vernon Township?
15.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mount Vernon Township?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mount Vernon Township work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (35%, 3 mi), Dodds Township (14%, 6 mi), Marion (3%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Mount Vernon Township 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 Mount Vernon Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mount Vernon Township
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.