Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMurphysboro Township’s household incomes are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 13.9%, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. For jobs and income Murphysboro Township is better than 18% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (B−). Working residents average 20 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Murphysboro Township
Murphysboro Township trades workers with the towns around it
Murphysboro Township has about as many jobs (3,130) as working residents (3,441), but they are mostly different people: 2,793 residents leave for work each day while 2,482 people come in. Only 21% of the jobs in Murphysboro Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Murphysboro Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Murphysboro Township
Job access by car holds Murphysboro Township’s grade up (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,687, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Murphysboro Township could be anywhere from D to C+.
Murphysboro Township by day and by night
On a workday 2,793 residents head out to work, 648 work right here, and 2,482 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 (0.91 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Time on the road from Murphysboro Township: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Murphysboro Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,476 commuters (the 13% 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.
24% of working residents work in Carbondale
Where Murphysboro Township clocks in
24% of workers
21% of workers
6% 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 kinds of work in Murphysboro Township
3,130 jobs are based in Murphysboro Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Murphysboro Township, 2013 → 2023: 3,424 → 3,130. 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 Murphysboro Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Murphysboro Township
About 21% 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.
For most of Murphysboro Township, work means a drive
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 6.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,998 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). 7.6% of Murphysboro Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Murphysboro Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,867 U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,600, Murphysboro Township comes 2,506th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Winnetka IL | 12,518 | $250K | 1.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,504 | Potomac Park CA | 10,138 | $51K | 20.9% | 11.4% | 2% | C− |
| 2,505 | Taft CA | 6,995 | $73K | 16.9% | 6.1% | 28% | C− |
| 2,506 | Murphysboro Township IL | 9,333 | $53K | 13.9% | 6.7% | 19% | C− |
| 2,507 | August CA | 8,825 | $53K | 26.9% | 10.9% | 2% | C− |
| 2,508 | Golden Hills CA | 9,891 | $96K | 17.6% | 11.6% | 7% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,867 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Murphysboro Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 24% of Murphysboro Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Murphysboro Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murphysboro Township | – | C− | B− | 20 min | $52,687 |
| Somerset Township | under 2% | C+ | C− | 29 min | $70,911 |
| Sand Ridge Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Carbondale Township | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Pomona Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Carbondale | 24% | D | A | 16 min | $32,128 |
Same-state neighbors only. Sand Ridge Township and Pomona Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Carbondale Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Carbondale. Darker towns draw more of Murphysboro 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 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 Murphysboro Township: questions
What is the median household income in Murphysboro Township?
$52,687 (±$8,588) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Murphysboro Township?
13.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Murphysboro Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Murphysboro Township work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carbondale (24%, 5 mi), Murphysboro (21%, 2 mi), Marion (6%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Murphysboro Township walkable?
Murphysboro Township is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Murphysboro Township without a car?
0% 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 Murphysboro Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Murphysboro Township
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.