Photo: Omnedon · Public domainMost of Georgetown commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
292 jobs are based in Georgetown, and 1,252 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Georgetown C; getting around on foot earns it C−. Measured by household income, Georgetown is behind 77% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Georgetown in brief
Georgetown is a place people come home to
There are 292 jobs based in Georgetown, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Georgetown has about 2,000 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Georgetown
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Georgetown is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #613 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Georgetown’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (17.3%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Georgetown could be anywhere from D to B.
Georgetown on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,173 residents head out to work, 79 work right here, and 213 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Georgetown on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
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 Georgetown goes to work
About 35% 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.
27% of working residents work in Danville
Where Georgetown clocks in
27% of workers
4% 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.
Georgetown is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Georgetown, 2013 → 2023: 369 → 292. 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 Georgetown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Georgetown
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Georgetown workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,162 commuters (the 14% 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.
Most of Georgetown commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Georgetown is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #708 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Georgetown 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 1,351 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). 4.2% of Georgetown households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Georgetown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Georgetown places 3,196th of 4,771 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,194 | Alexandria NY | 3,632 | $85K | 7.1% | 7.1% | 27% | C |
| 3,195 | Bonners Ferry ID | 2,797 | $53K | 13.4% | 0.7% | 30% | C |
| 3,196 | Georgetown IL | 3,006 | $58K | 17.3% | 2.7% | 6% | C |
| 3,197 | Momence IL | 3,158 | $58K | 10.1% | 6.1% | 13% | C |
| 3,198 | McLeansboro Township IL | 3,611 | $53K | 17.1% | 0.9% | 24% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | 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 Georgetown, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
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 Georgetown: questions
What is the median household income in Georgetown?
$58,182 (±$4,949) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Georgetown?
17.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Georgetown?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Georgetown work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Danville (27%, 12 mi), Chicago (4%, 128 mi), Danville Township (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Georgetown walkable?
Georgetown is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Georgetown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Georgetown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Georgetown
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.