Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Households in Christopher earn less than those in 90% of U.S. towns
20.8% of residents live below the poverty line; Illinois has 11.8%. For jobs and income Christopher is better than 11% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (C+). 4% of workers have no commute at all (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Christopher in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Christopher than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Christopher fell from 568 in 2013 to 376 in 2023, −34%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Few Christopher workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Christopher’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Christopher is Mount Vernon, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (126) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Many jobs in Christopher pay little
28% of the jobs based in Christopher pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Christopher
52% of Christopher residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Christopher pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Christopher’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Christopher’s grade up (ahead of 38% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($48,247, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (7.4%) is left out: Christopher’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, Christopher could be anywhere from D to C.
The 376 jobs based in Christopher
376 jobs are based in Christopher.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Christopher, 2013 → 2023: 568 → 376. 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 Christopher’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Christopher
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Christopher workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 803 commuters (the 4% 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 distance from Christopher to work
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Christopher
On a workday 952 residents head out to work, 86 work right here, and 290 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Christopher on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.36 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.
12% of working residents work in Mount Vernon
Where Christopher clocks in
12% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Few in Christopher walk, bike or ride to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 838 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). 7.7% of Christopher households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Christopher’s commuters take a bus or train.
Christopher places 4,385th of 5,083 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,383 | Middleport OH | 2,103 | $42K | 23.0% | 4.2% | 8% | D |
| 4,384 | Apalachicola FL | 2,473 | $52K | 15.7% | 5.0% | 30% | D |
| 4,385 | Christopher IL | 2,607 | $48K | 20.8% | 7.4% | 8% | D |
| 4,386 | Gibson City IL | 3,371 | $43K | 14.3% | 8.9% | 34% | D |
| 4,387 | Conrad MT | 2,393 | $48K | 17.6% | 4.3% | 42% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Christopher, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Christopher and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Christopher workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher | – | D | C+ | 25 min | $48,247 |
| North City | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. North City: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Christopher’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 Christopher: questions
What is the median household income in Christopher?
$48,247 (±$11,217) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Christopher?
20.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Christopher?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Christopher work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Vernon (12%, 25 mi), Marion (8%, 17 mi), Benton (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Christopher walkable?
Christopher is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Christopher without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Christopher, from the people who make the trip.
More of Christopher
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.