Households in Avena Township earn less than those in 87% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Avena Township for work; outside it, Effingham is the main destination (16%, 18 miles). The poverty rate is 20.0% (Illinois 11.8%). Jobs and income earn Avena Township D; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Avena Township: the figures worth knowing
Avena Township makes and builds things
51% of the jobs based in Avena Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Avena Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 22%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
Commutes from Avena Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 783 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Avena Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Avena Township is better than 7% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Avena Township’s grade.
Unemployment (5.6%) is left out: Avena Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Avena Township could be anywhere from D− to C.
Making and building: 51% of jobs based in Avena Township
772 jobs are based in Avena Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Avena Township, 2013 → 2023: 556 → 772. 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 Avena Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Avena Township
About 33% 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.
Commuting from Avena Township: about 21 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Avena Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 712 commuters (the 14% 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 a workday changes Avena Township
On a workday 682 residents head out to work, 101 work right here, and 671 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).
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 the trip to work from Avena Township ends
Where Avena Township clocks in
16% of workers
12% of workers
5% 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.
Most of Avena Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Avena Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Avena Township 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 824 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). 1.7% of Avena Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Avena Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Avena Township is 4,977th of 5,656 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,975 | Varnville SC | 1,626 | $56K | 14.4% | 14.5% | 8% | D |
| 4,976 | Johnson City TX | 2,127 | $49K | 15.7% | 8.3% | 21% | D |
| 4,977 | Avena Township IL | 1,875 | $51K | 20.0% | 5.6% | 13% | D |
| 4,978 | Union Township IN | 1,600 | $31K | 14.3% | 4.2% | 5% | D |
| 4,979 | Perry Township OH | 2,014 | $54K | 45.2% | 1.6% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Avena Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Avena Township and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Avena Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avena Township | – | D | B− | 21 min | $51,023 |
| Loudon Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Wheatland Township | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Sefton Township | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Mound Township | under 2% | B | B+ | 21 min | $75,313 |
Same-state neighbors only. Loudon Township, Wheatland Township and Sefton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Avena Township’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 Avena Township: questions
What is the median household income in Avena Township?
$51,023 (±$12,514) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Avena Township?
20.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Avena Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Avena Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Effingham (16%, 18 mi), St. Elmo (12%, 2 mi), Vandalia (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Avena Township walkable?
Avena Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Avena Township without a car?
0% 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 Avena Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Avena Township
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.