Saline County Poor Farm · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHarrisburg’s household incomes are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income D−: better than 5% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #765 of 768 in Illinois.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns · #372 of 768 in Illinois.
Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). About one in four work in Harrisburg; the top destination outside it is Marion (10%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Harrisburg
Commutes from Harrisburg are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Harrisburg workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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’s behind Harrisburg’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Harrisburg is better than 5% of U.S. towns, #765 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Harrisburg’s grade up (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (29.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Harrisburg could be anywhere from D− to D.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Illinois
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harrisburg workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,878 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Harrisburg fills up on a workday
On a workday 2,265 residents head out to work, 799 work right here, and 3,399 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,100 people are in Harrisburg on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
10% of working residents work in Marion
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Harrisburg clocks in
10% of workers
5% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 4,198 jobs in Harrisburg are
4,198 jobs are based in Harrisburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harrisburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harrisburg, 2013 → 2023: 4,417 → 4,198. 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.
Half of Harrisburg commutes less than 24 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 27% 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.
Most trips from Harrisburg start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harrisburg is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #372 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 2,987 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). 16.7% of Harrisburg households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Harrisburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Harrisburg compares with U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,700
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Harrisburg, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,999 | Yreka CA | 7,714 | $44K | 17.0% | 7.5% | 53% | D− |
| 3,000 | Perry FL | 7,330 | $41K | 18.9% | 6.4% | 29% | D− |
| 3,001 | Harrisburg IL | 7,922 | $43K | 29.0% | 9.5% | 26% | D− |
| 3,002 | Forest City NC | 7,410 | $36K | 32.1% | 7.5% | 15% | D− |
| 3,003 | Trinidad CO | 8,091 | $52K | 21.1% | 7.3% | 46% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,069 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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.
Harrisburg and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Harrisburg’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Harrisburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | – | D− | B+ | 19 min | $43,415 |
| Muddy | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Muddy: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Harrisburg: questions
What is the median household income in Harrisburg?
$43,415 (±$5,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harrisburg?
29.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harrisburg?
19 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harrisburg work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marion (10%, 22 mi), Eldorado (5%, 8 mi), Carbondale (3%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Harrisburg walkable?
Harrisburg is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harrisburg without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Harrisburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harrisburg
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.