Photo: Mpen320 · CC BY-SA 4.0Geneva’s household incomes are higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
Geneva grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. The poverty rate is 3.8% (Illinois 11.8%). For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Geneva and work: the main findings
Geneva is where the jobs are
Geneva has 16,594 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Geneva’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Geneva is Chicago, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,253) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Geneva works from home
26% of Geneva workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Geneva draws workers from far and wide
The 16,594 jobs in Geneva are filled from a wide area. Geneva’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; 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.
Why Geneva gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Geneva is among the top U.S. towns, #13 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Geneva’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Geneva stays A+.
How many people are in Geneva by day
On a workday 8,927 residents head out to work, 1,288 work right here, and 15,306 people come in from elsewhere.
About 28,000 people are in Geneva on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.6 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.
How far it is to work from Geneva
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 trip to work from Geneva: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Geneva workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,525 commuters (the 26% 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.
Who travels to work in Geneva, and from where
Where Geneva clocks in
12% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Geneva: what the 16,594 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Geneva, 2013 → 2023: 13,376 → 16,594. 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 Geneva’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Geneva
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Geneva is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #92 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Geneva 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 11,460 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 51% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.1% of Geneva households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Geneva’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Geneva ranks: 20th of 1,787 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| 18 | Corinth TX | 25,297 | $121K | 3.5% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 19 | Trussville AL | 27,273 | $123K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 12% | A+ |
| 20 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| 21 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| 22 | Hopkinton MA | 19,866 | $223K | 2.5% | 2.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Geneva, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 12% of Geneva
The biggest share goes to St. Charles (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Geneva workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva | – | A+ | A | 28 min | $144,341 |
| Batavia | 5% | A | A | 29 min | $120,056 |
| St. Charles | 7% | A | A− | 27 min | $114,300 |
| St. Charles Township | under 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $128,204 |
| Geneva Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $141,890 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Geneva’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 Geneva: questions
What is the median household income in Geneva?
$144,341 (±$9,457) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Geneva?
3.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Geneva?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Geneva work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (12%, 33 mi), St. Charles (7%, 3 mi), Batavia (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Geneva walkable?
Geneva is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Geneva without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Geneva, from the people who make the trip.
More of Geneva
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.