Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMurphysboro’s household incomes are lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Murphysboro C−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Below the poverty line: 14.9% of residents, against 11.8% across Illinois. About one in four work in Murphysboro itself; outside it, Carbondale draws the most (21%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Murphysboro, in brief
The four measures behind Murphysboro’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Murphysboro is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #714 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Murphysboro’s grade up (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($44,154, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Murphysboro could be anywhere from D to C+.
Getting to work from Murphysboro takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Murphysboro workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,510 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.
How many people are in Murphysboro by day
On a workday 1,950 residents head out to work, 626 work right here, and 2,778 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,800 people are in Murphysboro on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 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.
Where Murphysboro goes to work
Where Murphysboro clocks in
21% of workers
6% 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.
Inside Murphysboro’s 3,404 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Murphysboro, 2013 → 2023: 3,534 → 3,404. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Murphysboro
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.
Murphysboro is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Murphysboro is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #373 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Murphysboro near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,898 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). 8.8% of Murphysboro households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Murphysboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Murphysboro is 2,779th of 3,167 U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,777 | Kenton OH | 7,808 | $56K | 18.6% | 5.7% | 27% | C− |
| 2,778 | Mount Carmel PA | 5,579 | $53K | 16.2% | 6.4% | 7% | C− |
| 2,779 | Murphysboro IL | 6,977 | $44K | 14.9% | 5.9% | 24% | C− |
| 2,780 | Beaver Falls PA | 8,832 | $50K | 20.9% | 9.5% | 12% | C− |
| 2,781 | Charlestown NH | 4,924 | $47K | 14.8% | 5.1% | 19% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,167 | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
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: questions
What is the median household income in Murphysboro?
$44,154 (±$7,101) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Murphysboro?
14.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Murphysboro?
21 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 work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carbondale (21%, 7 mi), Marion (6%, 22 mi), Mount Vernon (3%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Murphysboro walkable?
Murphysboro is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Murphysboro without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Murphysboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Murphysboro
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.