Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0A job hub: Mount Vernon has 2.6 jobs per working resident, and 13,280 people come in to work
16,242 jobs are based in Mount Vernon for 6,296 working residents. The two grades for Mount Vernon are C− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Mount Vernon is behind 81% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Mount Vernon: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Mount Vernon are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Mount Vernon is where the jobs are
Mount Vernon has 16,242 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 24,000 people are in town, 70% more than the 14,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Mount Vernon draws workers from far and wide
The 16,242 jobs in Mount Vernon are filled from a wide area. Mount Vernon’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Few Mount Vernon workers work from home
Only 4% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Mount Vernon
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mount Vernon is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #704 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Mount Vernon’s grade up (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($55,357, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mount Vernon could be anywhere from D to C.
From Mount Vernon, about 14 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mount Vernon workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,107 commuters (the 4% 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, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,334 residents head out to work and 2,962 work right here.
About 24,000 people are in Mount Vernon on a workday afternoon, 70% more 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.
Who travels to work in Mount Vernon, and from where
Where Mount Vernon clocks in
2% of workers
2% 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.
30% of the jobs in Mount Vernon make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mount Vernon, 2013 → 2023: 16,973 → 16,242. 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 Mount Vernon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Mount Vernon
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Mount Vernon, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mount Vernon is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #583 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,363 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.4% of Mount Vernon households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Mount Vernon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000, Mount Vernon ranks 1,968th of 2,227 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| 31 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,966 | Great Bend KS | 14,266 | $54K | 16.9% | 4.7% | 42% | C− |
| 1,967 | Winton CA | 11,797 | $57K | 14.0% | 12.1% | 4% | C− |
| 1,968 | Mount Vernon IL | 14,187 | $55K | 17.3% | 6.3% | 47% | C− |
| 1,969 | Athol MA | 12,129 | $69K | 16.3% | 7.0% | 19% | C− |
| 1,970 | Cottonwood AZ | 12,709 | $48K | 18.6% | 3.1% | 22% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Mount Vernon, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Mount Vernon compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Dodds Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mount Vernon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon | – | C− | C+ | 14 min | $55,357 |
| Mount Vernon Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Dodds Township | 2% | C+ | C− | 21 min | $62,025 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mount Vernon Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mount Vernon’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 Mount Vernon: questions
What is the median household income in Mount Vernon?
$55,357 (±$4,203) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mount Vernon?
17.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mount Vernon?
14 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mount Vernon work?
47% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marion (2%, 40 mi), Dodds Township (2%, 5 mi), Salem (2%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mount Vernon walkable?
Mount Vernon is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mount Vernon
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.