West City draws 528 commuters a day, with 2.2 jobs for every working resident
For 4% of workers, the job is at home; Illinois has 16%. 537 jobs are based in West City, and 243 of its residents work somewhere. The trip to work takes 21 minutes on average; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in West City, in a few figures
Stores, warehouses and trucking
72% of the jobs in West City are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
West City is where the jobs are
West City has 537 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 930 people are in town, 46% more than the 640 who live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside West City
54% of West City residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 25% of the jobs based in West City pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 243 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs in West City: what the 537 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West City, 2014 → 2024: 421 → 537. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes West City
On a workday 234 residents head out to work and 9 work right here.
About 930 people are in West City on a workday afternoon, 46% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip into West City
Where West City clocks in
14% of workers
12% of workers
7% 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 trip to work from West City: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 279 commuters (the 3% 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.
How far West City goes to work
About 20% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
14% of West City works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Benton. Darker towns draw more of West 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 2024, 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 West City: questions
What is the median household income in West City?
$48,750 (±$6,679) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West City?
20.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West City?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West City work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Benton (14%, 2 mi), Marion (12%, 18 mi), Carbondale (7%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around West City without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West City, from the people who make the trip.
More of West City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.