With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Wayne City works elsewhere
Employers in Wayne City report 198 jobs, against 400 working residents. Only 6% work in Wayne City; the top destination outside it is Mount Vernon (15%, 18 miles). At home: 2% of workers have no commute at all (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Wayne City: the figures worth knowing
About 26 minutes to work from Wayne City
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wayne City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 390 commuters (the 2% 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.
In and out of Wayne City on a workday
On a workday 377 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 175 people come in from elsewhere.
About 780 people are in Wayne City on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
Commuting out of Wayne City: the destinations
Where Wayne City clocks in
15% of workers
11% 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.
The kinds of work in Wayne City
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wayne City, 2013 → 2023: 260 → 198. 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 Wayne City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Wayne City
About 29% 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.
Wayne City and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wayne City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne City | – | — | — | 26 min | $54,643 |
| Orel Township | under 2% | D | C− | 27 min | $48,542 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wayne City’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 Wayne City: questions
What is the median household income in Wayne City?
$54,643 (±$10,747) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wayne City?
14.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wayne City?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wayne City work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (15%, 18 mi), Fairfield (11%, 12 mi), Big Mound Township (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Wayne City without a car?
1% 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 Wayne City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wayne City
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.