Photo: Catching12 · CC BY 3.0Granite City’s household incomes are lower than in 75% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Granite City itself; outside it, St. Louis draws the most (12%, 9 miles). 14.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.8% across Illinois. Granite City grades C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Granite City: the figures worth knowing
Granite City trades workers with the towns around it
Granite City has about as many jobs (10,722) as working residents (11,508), but they are mostly different people: 9,596 residents leave for work each day while 8,810 people come in. Only 18% of the jobs in Granite City are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Granite City are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Granite City draws workers from far and wide
The 10,722 jobs in Granite City are filled from a wide area. Granite City’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Granite City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Granite City fell from 14,631 in 2014 to 10,722 in 2024, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Granite City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Granite City is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #561 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Granite City’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($59,205, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Granite City could be anywhere from C to B.
Granite City on a workday afternoon
On a workday 9,596 residents head out to work, 1,912 work right here, and 8,810 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.93 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Granite City: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Granite City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,472 commuters (the 9% 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 Granite City’s working residents head each day
Where Granite City clocks in
12% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 30% of the jobs in Granite City
10,722 jobs are based in Granite City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Granite City, 2014 → 2024: 14,631 → 10,722. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Granite City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Granite City to work
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Granite City is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Granite City is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #519 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Granite City 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 11,496 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). 9.3% of Granite City households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Granite City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Granite City is 1,115th of 1,477 U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Garfield Township MI | 19,698 | $66K | 17.4% | 3.3% | 17% | C+ |
| 1,114 | Machesney Park IL | 22,805 | $75K | 13.7% | 7.1% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,115 | Granite City IL | 26,807 | $59K | 14.8% | 5.7% | 17% | C+ |
| 1,116 | Edgewater FL | 24,795 | $61K | 10.0% | 3.7% | 14% | C+ |
| 1,117 | Lower Township NJ | 21,533 | $85K | 7.7% | 7.0% | 23% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 35% | 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 Granite City, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Granite City and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Pontoon Beach (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Granite City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granite City | – | C+ | B− | 22 min | $59,205 |
| Granite City Township | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Madison | under 2% | C− | C | 18 min | $49,326 |
| Nameoki Township | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $65,176 |
| Pontoon Beach | 3% | C | B− | 23 min | $62,861 |
| Venice Township | under 2% | C− | B− | 20 min | $44,117 |
| Hartford | under 2% | C | C+ | 24 min | $41,092 |
| Chouteau Township | under 2% | B | C− | 24 min | $60,160 |
Same-state neighbors only. Granite City Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Granite City’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 2024, 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 Granite City: questions
What is the median household income in Granite City?
$59,205 (±$2,566) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Granite City?
14.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Granite City?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Granite City work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (12%, 9 mi), Edwardsville (7%, 8 mi), Collinsville (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Granite City walkable?
Granite City is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Granite City without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Granite City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Granite City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.