Photo: carlfbagge · CC BY 2.0At 10.3%, unemployment in Abingdon is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Abingdon are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. For 2% of workers, the job is at home; Illinois has 16%. About one in seven work in Abingdon itself; outside it, Galesburg draws the most (27%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Abingdon at work: what stands out
Few Abingdon workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Abingdon workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
What’s behind Abingdon’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Abingdon is better than 19% of U.S. towns, #702 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Abingdon’s grade up (9.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Abingdon could be anywhere from D to C+.
Each way, about 35 minutes from Abingdon
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Abingdon workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,626 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.
How many miles Abingdon commutes
About 31% 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.
How many people are in Abingdon by day
On a workday 983 residents head out to work, 150 work right here, and 259 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Abingdon on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.36 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 Abingdon goes to work
Where Abingdon clocks in
27% of workers
3% 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 Abingdon
409 jobs are based in Abingdon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Abingdon, 2013 → 2023: 508 → 409. 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 Abingdon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Abingdon commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Abingdon is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #374 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Abingdon 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 1,658 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). 2.9% of Abingdon households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Abingdon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Abingdon next to U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800: 3,727th of 4,703 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,725 | Sutton Township OH | 3,000 | $41K | 22.5% | 1.5% | 5% | C− |
| 3,726 | Necedah WI | 2,493 | $58K | 9.7% | 4.4% | 5% | C− |
| 3,727 | Abingdon IL | 2,832 | $62K | 9.2% | 10.3% | 13% | C− |
| 3,728 | Galva IL | 2,383 | $52K | 18.8% | 3.8% | 24% | C− |
| 3,729 | Osceola WI | 2,890 | $53K | 14.1% | 7.4% | 19% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Abingdon, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
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 Abingdon: questions
What is the median household income in Abingdon?
$61,653 (±$7,479) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Abingdon?
9.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Abingdon?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Abingdon work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Galesburg (27%, 10 mi), Peoria (10%, 41 mi), Chicago (3%, 158 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Abingdon walkable?
Abingdon is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Abingdon without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Abingdon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Abingdon
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.