Photo: Aaron Lucas · CC BY-SA 4.0Benton’s household incomes are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Benton itself; outside it, Mount Vernon draws the most (14%, 21 miles). 17.7% of residents are in poverty, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. For jobs and income Benton is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Benton stands out on work
The four measures behind Benton’s grade
Unemployment holds Benton’s grade up (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($54,123, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Benton could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily flow of workers through Benton
On a workday 2,070 residents head out to work, 466 work right here, and 1,713 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 (0.86 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.
Out of Benton to work: where people go
Where Benton clocks in
14% of workers
9% of workers
4% 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 jobs in Benton are in services
2,179 jobs are based in Benton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Benton, 2013 → 2023: 2,127 → 2,179. 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 Benton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Benton spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Benton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,426 commuters (the 11% 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.
The commute from Benton, by distance
About 19% 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.
Few in Benton walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,725 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). 6.2% of Benton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Benton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Benton is 2,530th among 3,283 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 11 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,528 | Sodus NY | 8,201 | $70K | 17.1% | 5.4% | 21% | C |
| 2,529 | Dock Junction GA | 8,147 | $41K | 27.0% | 2.3% | 10% | C |
| 2,530 | Benton IL | 6,558 | $54K | 17.7% | 3.9% | 18% | C |
| 2,531 | Iron Mountain MI | 7,469 | $59K | 13.5% | 4.2% | 43% | C |
| 2,532 | Sullivan MO | 6,942 | $63K | 11.4% | 5.9% | 26% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Benton, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Benton: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to West City (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Benton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton | – | C | B− | 24 min | $54,123 |
| West City | 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West City: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Benton’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 Benton: questions
What is the median household income in Benton?
$54,123 (±$11,820) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Benton?
17.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Benton?
24 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Benton work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (14%, 21 mi), Marion (9%, 19 mi), West Frankfort (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Benton walkable?
Benton is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Benton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Benton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Benton
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.