Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Ridgway has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
168 jobs are based in Ridgway, and 321 of its residents work somewhere. Only 5% stay in Ridgway for work; outside it, Evansville is the main destination (7%, 42 miles). Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Ridgway, in brief
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
A lot of Ridgway workers cross into Indiana
18% of Ridgway workers work outside Illinois, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Evansville (7%) and Black Township (7%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Few Ridgway 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; with 321 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Half of Ridgway commutes less than 25 miles
About 33% 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.
Out of Ridgway to work: where people go
Where Ridgway clocks in
7% 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.
Ridgway’s commute takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ridgway workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 315 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.
Ridgway on a workday afternoon
On a workday 306 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 153 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Ridgway on a workday afternoon, 19% 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.
A place that makes things: 32% of Ridgway’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ridgway, 2013 → 2023: 214 → 168. 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 Ridgway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Ridgway: questions
What is the median household income in Ridgway?
$46,000 (±$6,785) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ridgway?
9.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ridgway?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ridgway work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Evansville (7%, 42 mi), Black Township (7%, 22 mi), Equality Township (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ridgway without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ridgway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ridgway
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.