Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMost of Sesser commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Sesser has 184 jobs for 715 working residents. For jobs and income Sesser is better than 10% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (C). Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Sesser in brief
Sesser is a place people come home to
There are 184 jobs based in Sesser, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sesser has about 1,400 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Sesser workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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; with 715 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Sesser’s Jobs & income grade
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Sesser’s grade.
Unemployment (5.8%) is left out: Sesser’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Sesser could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Who commutes out of Sesser, and who commutes in
On a workday 684 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 153 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Sesser on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
How long Sesser spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sesser workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 783 commuters (the 5% 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.
21% of working residents work in Mount Vernon
Where Sesser clocks in
21% of workers
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.
Jobs in Sesser: what the 184 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sesser, 2013 → 2023: 179 → 184. 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 Sesser’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Sesser’s workers travel
About 22% 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.
For most of Sesser, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 828 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). 3.6% of Sesser households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sesser’s commuters take a bus or train.
Sesser places 4,736th of 5,656 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,734 | Erwinville LA | 2,420 | $52K | 53.1% | 33.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,735 | Moyie Springs ID | 1,317 | $62K | 14.7% | 7.0% | 4% | D |
| 4,736 | Sesser IL | 1,888 | $53K | 19.6% | 5.8% | 4% | D |
| 4,737 | Owingsville KY | 1,612 | $40K | 17.8% | 2.5% | 15% | D |
| 4,738 | Gold Beach OR | 2,257 | $56K | 12.2% | 6.9% | 40% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Sesser, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Sesser: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Goode Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sesser workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sesser | – | D | C | 35 min | $52,604 |
| Goode Township | 6% | D | C | 33 min | $59,420 |
| Barren Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Barren Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sesser’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Sesser: questions
What is the median household income in Sesser?
$52,604 (±$10,726) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sesser?
19.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sesser?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sesser work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (21%, 17 mi), Marion (7%, 25 mi), Benton (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sesser walkable?
Sesser is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sesser without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sesser, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sesser
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.