Nicholas Jarrot Mansion · Photo: Rklawton · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Cahokia Heights are lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Cahokia Heights are C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. 34.1% of residents are in poverty (Illinois 11.8%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.6 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
Where Cahokia Heights stands out on work
The jobs in Cahokia Heights pay better than its residents’ jobs
65% of the jobs based in Cahokia Heights pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 42% of the jobs Cahokia Heights residents hold. 88% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Cahokia Heights. The jobs ↓
A lot of Cahokia Heights works one town over
28% of working residents work in a town that borders Cahokia Heights: St. Louis (13%), Belleville (7%) and East St. Louis (4%). Next door ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Cahokia Heights: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cahokia Heights is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #719 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Cahokia Heights’ grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($33,792, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cahokia Heights could be anywhere from D to C−.
65% of the jobs in Cahokia Heights pay over $3,333 a month
4,164 jobs are based in Cahokia Heights.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cahokia Heights, 2013 → 2023: 4,715 → 4,164. 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 Cahokia Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Cahokia Heights: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 5,844 residents head out to work, 519 work right here, and 3,645 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Cahokia Heights on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
13% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Cahokia Heights clocks in
13% of workers
7% 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.
The daily trip from Cahokia Heights: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cahokia Heights workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,621 commuters (the 8% 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 far Cahokia Heights’ workers travel
About 17% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Cahokia Heights
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cahokia Heights is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #128 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Cahokia Heights 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 6,142 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 36% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 18.4% of Cahokia Heights households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Cahokia Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
Cahokia Heights next to U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Kirksville MO | 17,863 | $50K | 28.2% | 4.0% | 49% | C− |
| 1,848 | McFarland CA | 14,709 | $55K | 24.1% | 7.9% | 14% | C− |
| 1,849 | Cahokia Heights IL | 16,874 | $34K | 34.1% | 10.0% | 8% | C− |
| 1,850 | El Campo TX | 12,142 | $67K | 21.0% | 6.4% | 26% | C− |
| 1,851 | Poplar Bluff MO | 16,295 | $42K | 20.8% | 4.9% | 50% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Cahokia Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Cahokia Heights and its neighbors: 28% work next door
The biggest share goes to St. Louis (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cahokia Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cahokia Heights | – | C− | A | 26 min | $33,792 |
| Centreville Township | under 2% | C− | A | 26 min | $34,675 |
| East St. Louis | 4% | C− | A | 23 min | $35,700 |
| East St. Louis Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Sauget | 4% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Stookey Township | under 2% | B | B+ | 23 min | $81,894 |
| Sugar Loaf Township | under 2% | B | C | 25 min | $72,985 |
| Belleville | 7% | C+ | A | 25 min | $63,535 |
Same-state neighbors only. East St. Louis Township: not graded. Sauget: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cahokia Heights’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 Cahokia Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Cahokia Heights?
$33,792 (±$4,447) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cahokia Heights?
34.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cahokia Heights?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cahokia Heights work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (13%, 6 mi), Belleville (7%, 10 mi), East St. Louis (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cahokia Heights walkable?
Cahokia Heights is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cahokia Heights without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. 36% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cahokia Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cahokia Heights
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.