Photo: Barry Gilfry from Cornpatch, Iowa · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Hamilton commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
460 jobs are based in Hamilton, against 1,182 working residents. For jobs and income Hamilton is better than 32% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−). Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Hamilton
Many Hamilton workers cross into Iowa
42% of Hamilton workers work outside Illinois, most of them in Iowa, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
A lot of Hamilton works one town over
28% of working residents work in a town that borders Hamilton: Keokuk (25%) and Montebello Township (3%). Next door ↓
Hamilton makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Hamilton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Hamilton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Hamilton
Unemployment holds Hamilton’s grade up (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($56,895, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hamilton could be anywhere from D to B.
25% of working residents work in Keokuk
Where Hamilton clocks in
25% of workers
6% 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.
Goods, not services: 38% of the jobs in Hamilton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hamilton, 2013 → 2023: 476 → 460. 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 Hamilton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Hamilton on a workday
On a workday 1,046 residents head out to work, 136 work right here, and 324 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Hamilton on a workday afternoon, 28% 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 Hamilton: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hamilton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,075 commuters (the 10% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Hamilton
About 25% 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 Hamilton, the car does most of the work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,197 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). 8.9% of Hamilton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hamilton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hamilton places 3,238th of 5,083 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,236 | Florence Township OH | 1,925 | $75K | 13.4% | 3.0% | 11% | C |
| 3,237 | Ardmore IN | 1,810 | $47K | 14.6% | 3.7% | <1% | C |
| 3,238 | Hamilton IL | 2,624 | $57K | 14.2% | 2.9% | 12% | C |
| 3,239 | Munising MI | 1,938 | $60K | 4.2% | 3.5% | 36% | C |
| 3,240 | Benson MN | 3,444 | $53K | 9.8% | 3.1% | 42% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Hamilton, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Hamilton and its neighbors: 28% work next door
The biggest share goes to Keokuk (25%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hamilton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | – | C | C− | 25 min | $56,895 |
| Montebello Township | 3% | C+ | D | 24 min | $59,966 |
| Rocky Run-Wilcox Township | under 2% | — | — | 13 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rocky Run-Wilcox Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hamilton’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 Hamilton: questions
What is the median household income in Hamilton?
$56,895 (±$9,459) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hamilton?
14.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hamilton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hamilton work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Keokuk (25%, 2 mi), Fort Madison (6%, 16 mi), Carthage (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hamilton walkable?
Hamilton is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hamilton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hamilton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hamilton
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.