Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Centralia earn less than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 24.3% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. The two grades for Centralia are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 6% of workers work from home, where Illinois as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Centralia and work: the main findings
Commutes from Centralia are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Centralia draws workers from far and wide
The 5,384 jobs in Centralia are filled from a wide area. Centralia’s own residents hold 21% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 57% 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.
Inside Centralia’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Centralia’s grade up (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (11.2%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Centralia could be anywhere from D− to D.
The daily trip from Centralia: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Centralia workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,949 commuters (the 6% 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.
7% of working residents work in Mount Vernon
Where Centralia clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
Centralia on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,264 residents head out to work, 1,144 work right here, and 4,240 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 (1.22 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.
The 5,384 jobs based in Centralia
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Centralia, 2013 → 2023: 6,337 → 5,384. 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 Centralia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Centralia
About 28% 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.
Driving is how Centralia gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Centralia is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #332 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Centralia 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 4,200 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). 12.6% of Centralia households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Centralia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Centralia next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,639 | Eunice LA | 9,035 | $35K | 33.2% | 8.6% | 27% | D |
| 2,640 | Hoquiam WA | 8,710 | $50K | 17.2% | 10.0% | 12% | D |
| 2,641 | Centralia IL | 11,863 | $48K | 24.3% | 11.2% | 26% | D |
| 2,642 | Natchez MS | 14,880 | $37K | 33.7% | 6.5% | 40% | D |
| 2,643 | Portales NM | 11,734 | $51K | 28.1% | 7.4% | 41% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Centralia, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Centralia and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Centralia Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Centralia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia | – | D | B+ | 19 min | $47,807 |
| Wamac | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Central City | 1% | D | B | 16 min | $44,896 |
| Centralia Township | 4% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Brookside Township | 2% | D− | B | 17 min | $44,875 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wamac: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Centralia Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Centralia’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 Centralia: questions
What is the median household income in Centralia?
$47,807 (±$2,940) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Centralia?
24.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Centralia?
19 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Centralia work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (7%, 18 mi), Salem (5%, 12 mi), Centralia Township (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Centralia walkable?
Centralia is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Centralia without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Centralia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Centralia
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.