Photo: rboed* · CC BY 2.0At 1.6%, unemployment in Galena is lower than in 89% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Galena is behind 76% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Galena are B for jobs and income and A for walkability. About two in five work in Galena itself; outside it, Dubuque draws the most (13%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Galena
Commutes from Galena are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Galena workers cross into Iowa
21% of Galena workers work outside Illinois, most of them in Iowa, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Galena is where the jobs are
Galena has 2,260 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The biggest group of Galena’s workers comes from Dubuque
160 of the people who work in Galena live in Dubuque, IA, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. 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.
What’s behind Galena’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Galena is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #427 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Galena’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($58,689, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Galena could be anywhere from C to A−.
Getting to work from Galena takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Galena workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,336 commuters (the 13% 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.
Where the people who work in Galena live
Where Galena clocks in
13% 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.
How a workday changes Galena
On a workday 802 residents head out to work, 540 work right here, and 1,720 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Galena on a workday afternoon, 29% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Jobs in Galena: what the 2,260 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Galena, 2013 → 2023: 2,135 → 2,260. 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 Galena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Galena
About 26% 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.
Galena is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Galena is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #97 of 768 in Illinois. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 21.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 8.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,539 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). 15.3% of Galena households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Galena’s commuters take a bus or train.
Galena next to U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300: 1,791st of 4,698 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,789 | Hamlin Township MI | 3,238 | $92K | 1.9% | 10.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,790 | Lake Nacimiento CA | 3,339 | $92K | 3.5% | 3.7% | 5% | B |
| 1,791 | Galena IL | 3,210 | $59K | 6.4% | 1.6% | 40% | B |
| 1,792 | Menallen Township PA | 3,802 | $86K | 6.9% | 4.0% | 11% | B |
| 1,793 | Cambridge VT | 3,666 | $72K | 6.7% | 1.6% | 23% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | 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 Galena, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Galena and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to East Galena Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Galena workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | – | B | A | 15 min | $58,689 |
| West Galena Township | under 1% | B+ | A | 16 min | $65,679 |
| East Galena Township | 1% | A− | A− | 20 min | $103,008 |
| Rawlins Township | 1% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rawlins Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Galena’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 Galena: questions
What is the median household income in Galena?
$58,689 (±$16,492) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Galena?
6.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Galena?
15 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Galena work?
40% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dubuque (13%, 15 mi), The Galena Territory (4%, 6 mi), East Dubuque (2%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Galena walkable?
Galena is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 21% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Galena without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Galena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Galena
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.