For about half of its working residents, Thayer is a commute to Springfield
Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. Hardly any work in Thayer; the top destination outside it is Springfield (46%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Thayer
Thayer is a place people come home to
There are 15 jobs based in Thayer, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Thayer has about 330 people in it, 47% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Thayer works in Springfield
137 working residents, 46%, have their main job in Springfield, 18 miles away. That’s far more as work in Thayer itself. The commute map ↓
Few Thayer 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 301 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
In and out of Thayer on a workday
On a workday 301 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in Thayer on a workday afternoon, 47% fewer than live here.
0.05 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Thayer ends
Where Thayer clocks in
46% of workers
2% 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.
From Thayer, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thayer workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 251 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.
Goods jobs make up 40% of work in Thayer
15 jobs are based in Thayer.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thayer, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 15. 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 Thayer’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Thayer works
About 24% 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 Thayer: questions
What is the median household income in Thayer?
$62,083 (±$17,335) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thayer?
10.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thayer?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thayer work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Thayer without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thayer, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thayer
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.