Most of Virden commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 705 jobs in Virden, and 1,462 of its residents work somewhere. Virden grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in ten work in Virden itself; outside it, Springfield draws the most (32%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Virden at work: what stands out
One in three of Virden works in Springfield
470 working residents, 32%, have their main job in Springfield, 21 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Virden itself. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in Virden are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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.
Where Virden’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Virden is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #584 of 768 in Illinois. Household income holds Virden’s grade up ($80,577, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Virden could be anywhere from C− to A−.
The towns that employ Virden’s residents
Where Virden clocks in
32% 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 Virden: what the 705 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Virden, 2013 → 2023: 817 → 705. 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 Virden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Virden
On a workday 1,331 residents head out to work, 131 work right here, and 574 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Virden on a workday afternoon, 24% 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.
About 24 minutes each way, quicker than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Virden workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,310 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 distance from Virden to work
About 27% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Virden
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Virden is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #166 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Virden 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 1,460 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). 7.2% of Virden households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Virden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300, Virden comes 2,925th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,923 | Rutland VT | 3,869 | $72K | 10.4% | 5.1% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,924 | Emma NC | 2,657 | $44K | 11.3% | 0.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,925 | Virden IL | 3,149 | $81K | 10.2% | 6.8% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,926 | Milford IA | 3,209 | $63K | 8.9% | 4.2% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,927 | Amber Township MI | 2,550 | $71K | 9.0% | 4.6% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | 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 Virden, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Virden
The biggest share goes to Auburn Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Virden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virden | – | C+ | A | 24 min | $80,577 |
| Virden Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Auburn Township | 1% | B− | B− | 26 min | $81,179 |
Same-state neighbors only. Virden Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Virden’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 Virden: questions
What is the median household income in Virden?
$80,577 (±$16,083) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Virden?
10.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Virden?
24 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Virden work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (32%, 21 mi), Auburn (4%, 5 mi), Girard (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Virden walkable?
Virden is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Virden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Virden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Virden
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.