Photo: Joseph Gage · CC BY-SA 2.0San Jose has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 32 jobs in San Jose, against 167 working residents. Only 1% stay in San Jose for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (14%, 36 miles). Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average; the Illinois average is 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of San Jose on a workday
On a workday 165 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 30 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in San Jose on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
Out of San Jose to work: where people go
Where San Jose clocks in
14% of workers
8% 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 San Jose’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in San Jose, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 32. 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 San Jose’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from San Jose takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of San Jose workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 191 commuters (the 11% 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 commute from San Jose, by distance
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.
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 San Jose: questions
What is the median household income in San Jose?
$55,809 (±$4,575) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in San Jose?
30.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from San Jose?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in San Jose work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (14%, 36 mi), Lincoln (8%, 16 mi), Mason City (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around San Jose 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 San Jose, from the people who make the trip.
More of San Jose
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.