Godfrey, Benjamin, Memorial Chapel · Photo: Joseph T. Golabowski · Public domainMost of Godfrey commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
There are 3,393 jobs in Godfrey, against 7,773 working residents. Godfrey grades B+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 72% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Godfrey, in brief
Godfrey and Alton trade workers both ways
Alton is the top workplace for Godfrey residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Godfrey come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Godfrey
62% of Godfrey residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Godfrey pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Godfrey
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Godfrey is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #296 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Godfrey’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Godfrey could be anywhere from B to A.
18% of working residents work in Alton
Where Godfrey clocks in
18% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
What Godfrey’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Godfrey, 2013 → 2023: 3,517 → 3,393. 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 Godfrey’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Godfrey, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 7,219 residents head out to work, 554 work right here, and 2,839 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Godfrey on a workday afternoon, 25% 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.
The trip to work from Godfrey: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Godfrey workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,313 commuters (the 16% 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.
Half of Godfrey commutes less than 17 miles
About 16% 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 Godfrey, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Godfrey is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #689 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,738 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 5.5% of Godfrey households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Godfrey’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Godfrey is 830th of 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 828 | Etna Township OH | 20,136 | $103K | 8.9% | 4.5% | 8% | B+ |
| 829 | Fairwood WA | 17,856 | $122K | 8.4% | 5.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 830 | Godfrey IL | 17,620 | $95K | 6.4% | 4.6% | 7% | B+ |
| 831 | Tomball TX | 15,768 | $79K | 9.2% | 3.3% | 12% | B+ |
| 832 | Aston Township PA | 16,760 | $99K | 6.0% | 6.2% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Godfrey, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
18% of Godfrey works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Godfrey workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godfrey | – | B+ | C | 26 min | $94,543 |
| Alton | 18% | C | A− | 23 min | $54,568 |
| Alton Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Foster Township | under 2% | B | D | 27 min | $110,625 |
| Elsah Township | under 2% | B− | B− | 25 min | $74,375 |
| Piasa Township | under 2% | B+ | D | 32 min | $90,347 |
Same-state neighbors only. Alton Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Alton. Darker towns draw more of Godfrey’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 Godfrey: questions
What is the median household income in Godfrey?
$94,543 (±$10,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Godfrey?
6.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Godfrey?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Godfrey work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alton (18%, 5 mi), St. Louis (7%, 22 mi), Edwardsville (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Godfrey walkable?
Godfrey is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Godfrey without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Godfrey, from the people who make the trip.
More of Godfrey
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.