Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0At 0.6%, unemployment in Colona is lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
8% of workers work from home; Illinois has 16%. The two grades for Colona are A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 5% work in Colona itself; outside it, Moline draws the most (13%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Colona, in brief
A lot of Colona workers cross into Iowa
28% of Colona workers work outside Illinois, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Davenport (12%) and Bettendorf (4%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Colona is a place people come home to
There are 565 jobs based in Colona, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Colona has about 3,300 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Colona are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Colona
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Colona is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #146 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($79,700, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Colona could be anywhere from A− to A.
Where people from Colona work
Where Colona clocks in
13% of workers
12% of workers
10% 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.
Colona by day and by night
On a workday 2,142 residents head out to work, 103 work right here, and 462 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Colona on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.25 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.
The daily trip from Colona: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colona workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,562 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.
In Colona, 32% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
565 jobs are based in Colona.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colona, 2013 → 2023: 546 → 565. 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 Colona’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Colona works
About 20% 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.
In Colona, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Colona is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #631 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Colona 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 2,799 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). 1.4% of Colona households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Colona’s commuters take a bus or train.
Colona next to U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700: 476th of 3,692 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 474 | Barnhart MO | 5,785 | $96K | 4.8% | 2.8% | 2% | A |
| 475 | Kimberly AL | 4,858 | $97K | 3.4% | 2.8% | 1% | A |
| 476 | Colona IL | 4,938 | $80K | 3.8% | 0.6% | 5% | A |
| 477 | Wolverine Lake MI | 4,455 | $92K | 5.8% | 2.8% | 1% | A |
| 478 | Chester NY | 3,991 | $101K | 6.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Colona, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Colona and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Colona workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colona | – | A | C+ | 23 min | $79,700 |
| Edford Township | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Hanna Township | under 3% | A− | C+ | 23 min | $110,776 |
Same-state neighbors only. Edford Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Colona’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 Colona: questions
What is the median household income in Colona?
$79,700 (±$6,100) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colona?
3.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colona?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colona work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Moline (13%, 8 mi), Davenport (12%, 15 mi), East Moline (10%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colona walkable?
Colona is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colona without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colona, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colona
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.