Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Red Bud (2.3%) than in 80% of U.S. towns
Red Bud grades B+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in four work in Red Bud; the top destination outside it is Belleville (7%, 21 miles). Home is the office for 10% of workers (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Red Bud apart on work
Red Bud trades workers with the towns around it
Red Bud has about as many jobs (1,862) as working residents (1,738), but they are mostly different people: 1,293 residents leave for work each day while 1,417 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in Red Bud are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Red Bud are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 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.
Inside Red Bud’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Red Bud is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #332 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Red Bud’s grade up (4.9%, U.S. 12.5%); household income pulls it down ($71,850, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Red Bud could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The daily flow of workers through Red Bud
On a workday 1,293 residents head out to work, 445 work right here, and 1,417 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 (1.07 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.
The trip to work from Red Bud: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Red Bud workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,705 commuters (the 10% 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.
The places Red Bud commutes to
Where Red Bud clocks in
7% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
What work there is in Red Bud: 1,862 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Red Bud, 2013 → 2023: 1,641 → 1,862. 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 Red Bud’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Red Bud, by distance
About 17% 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.
Red Bud is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Red Bud is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #342 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Red Bud 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 1,885 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). 5.9% of Red Bud households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Red Bud’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,100, Red Bud ranks 1,242nd of 4,430 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,240 | Bingham Township MI | 2,660 | $94K | 2.2% | 3.5% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,241 | West DeLand FL | 3,632 | $76K | 6.5% | 3.2% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,242 | Red Bud IL | 3,761 | $72K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 26% | B+ |
| 1,243 | Central City NE | 3,184 | $73K | 4.1% | 0.0% | 31% | B+ |
| 1,244 | Vernon Township MI | 4,296 | $64K | 7.3% | 0.6% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,430 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Red Bud, 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 Red Bud: questions
What is the median household income in Red Bud?
$71,850 (±$8,187) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Red Bud?
4.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Red Bud?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Red Bud work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Belleville (7%, 21 mi), St. Louis (5%, 32 mi), Waterloo (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Red Bud walkable?
Red Bud is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Red Bud without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Red Bud, from the people who make the trip.
More of Red Bud
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.