Central City has lower household incomes than 93% of U.S. towns
29.1% of residents are in poverty; Illinois has 11.8%. Jobs and income earn Central City D; getting around on foot earns it B. Working from home is the commute for 1% of workers; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Central City and work: the main findings
Central City and Centralia trade workers both ways
Centralia is the top workplace for Central City residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Central City come from (31% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Central City are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Central City workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 418 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Central City’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Central City is better than 6% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Central City’s grade up (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (7.2%) is left out: Central City’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, Central City could be anywhere from D− to D.
23% of working residents work in Centralia
Where Central City clocks in
23% 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 daily trip from Central City: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Central City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 470 commuters (the 1% 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 daily commute in and out of Central City
On a workday 409 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 196 people come in from elsewhere.
About 850 people are in Central City on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
What the 205 jobs in Central City are
205 jobs are based in Central City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Central City, 2013 → 2023: 130 → 205. 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 Central City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Central City commutes less than 18 miles
About 24% 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.
Getting around Central City: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Central City is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Central City 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 473 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). 9.7% of Central City households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Central City’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Central City is 2,730th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| 20 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,728 | Montgomery VT | 1,225 | $53K | 15.6% | 16.1% | 4% | D |
| 2,729 | Yellville AR | 1,095 | $38K | 15.8% | 6.2% | 15% | D |
| 2,730 | Central City IL | 1,067 | $45K | 29.1% | 7.2% | 2% | D |
| 2,731 | Caldwell KS | 1,000 | $44K | 12.8% | 8.8% | 15% | D |
| 2,732 | Carson City MI | 1,137 | $44K | 15.7% | 5.0% | 5% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Central City, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
23% of Central City works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Central City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central City | – | D | B | 16 min | $44,896 |
| Centralia | 23% | D | B+ | 19 min | $47,807 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Centralia. Darker towns draw more of Central City’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 Central City: questions
What is the median household income in Central City?
$44,896 (±$11,880) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Central City?
29.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Central City?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Central City work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Centralia (23%, 2 mi), Mount Vernon (7%, 20 mi), Salem (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Central City walkable?
Central City is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Central City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Central City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Central City
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.