Photo: G LeTourneau · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Batavia top those of 88% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 5.5%; Illinois has 11.8%. Batavia grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Batavia, in a few figures
Batavia’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Batavia is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,616) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Batavia works from home
24% of Batavia workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Batavia draws workers from far and wide
The 17,657 jobs in Batavia are filled from a wide area. Batavia’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Batavia’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Batavia is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #58 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Batavia’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Batavia could be anywhere from A to A+.
Batavia’s commute, mile by mile
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 Batavia: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Batavia workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,655 commuters (the 24% 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.
12% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Batavia clocks in
12% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Batavia
On a workday 11,833 residents head out to work, 1,253 work right here, and 16,404 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Batavia on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 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.
31% of the jobs in Batavia make or build things
17,657 jobs are based in Batavia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Batavia, 2013 → 2023: 15,144 → 17,657. 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 Batavia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Batavia is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Batavia is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #186 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Batavia 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 14,078 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 38% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.9% of Batavia households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Batavia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Batavia is 120th among 1,477 U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Pecan Grove TX | 24,272 | $132K | 5.9% | 2.7% | 2% | A |
| 119 | Limerick Township PA | 21,436 | $121K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 8% | A |
| 120 | Batavia IL | 26,586 | $120K | 5.5% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| 121 | Sudbury MA | 19,643 | $236K | 3.0% | 4.2% | 8% | A |
| 122 | Bernards Township NJ | 28,594 | $194K | 3.1% | 4.2% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Batavia, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 15% of Batavia
The biggest share goes to Aurora (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Batavia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batavia | – | A | A | 29 min | $120,056 |
| Geneva | 6% | A+ | A | 28 min | $144,341 |
| North Aurora | under 2% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $114,305 |
| Aurora | 7% | B+ | A | 27 min | $93,633 |
| Batavia Township | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $131,798 |
| Geneva Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $141,890 |
| West Chicago | 2% | B | B+ | 26 min | $99,927 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Batavia’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 Batavia: questions
What is the median household income in Batavia?
$120,056 (±$6,436) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Batavia?
5.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Batavia?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Batavia work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (12%, 32 mi), Aurora (7%, 6 mi), Geneva (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Batavia walkable?
Batavia is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Batavia without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Batavia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Batavia
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.