How West Point works: jobs, income and commuting
Working residents average 34 minutes each way, next to 28 for Illinois and 26 for the U.S. Hardly any work in West Point; the top destination outside it is Carthage (13%, 11 miles). Home is the office for 8% of workers, where Illinois as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in West Point: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 72 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 64 people are in West Point on a workday afternoon, 53% fewer than live here.
0.00 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.
The towns that employ West Point’s residents
Where West Point clocks in
13% 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.
Commuting from West Point: about 34 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Point workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 75 commuters (the 9% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from West Point
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.
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 West Point: questions
What is the median household income in West Point?
$64,375 (±$54,537) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Point?
11.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Point?
34 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Point work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carthage (13%, 11 mi), Macomb (7%, 30 mi), Quincy (7%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around West Point without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Point, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Point
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.