With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Noble works elsewhere
Employers in Noble report 47 jobs; 276 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Noble itself; outside it, Olney draws the most (31%, 8 miles). 2% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Noble
Noble is a place people come home to
There are 47 jobs based in Noble, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Noble has about 380 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Noble and Olney trade workers both ways
Olney is the top workplace for Noble residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Noble come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 276 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Noble: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 275 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere.
About 380 people are in Noble on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer 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.
Commuting out of Noble: the destinations
Where Noble clocks in
31% of workers
5% 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 Noble, by distance
About 32% 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.
Making and building: 34% of jobs based in Noble
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Noble, 2013 → 2023: 113 → 47. 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 Noble’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Noble: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Noble workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 273 commuters (the 2% 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.
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 Noble: questions
What is the median household income in Noble?
$57,143 (±$16,150) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Noble?
16.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Noble?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Noble work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Olney (31%, 8 mi), Olney Township (5%, 7 mi), Chicago (3%, 219 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Noble without a car?
0% 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 Noble, from the people who make the trip.
More of Noble
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.