Photo: Maliwhite10 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Havana are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
Havana grades D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 24.0% of residents are in poverty, against 11.8% across Illinois. About one in three stay in Havana for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (9%, 41 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Havana at work: what stands out
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Havana
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Havana is better than 7% of U.S. towns, #754 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Havana’s grade up (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($41,184, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Havana could be anywhere from D− to C+.
The commute from Havana, by distance
About 24% 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 daily flow of workers through Havana
On a workday 598 residents head out to work, 340 work right here, and 870 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Havana on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 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.
Where people from Havana work
Where Havana clocks in
9% 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.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Inside Havana’s 1,210 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Havana, 2014 → 2024: 1,453 → 1,210. 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 Havana’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Havana, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Havana workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 906 commuters (the 11% 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.
In Havana, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Havana is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #216 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Havana 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 1,015 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). 18.8% of Havana households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Havana’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Havana sits among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,301 | Colebrook NH | 2,110 | $51K | 13.3% | 2.9% | 35% | D |
| 4,302 | Cricket NC | 2,317 | $40K | 27.0% | 3.4% | 1% | D |
| 4,303 | Havana IL | 2,799 | $41K | 24.0% | 5.0% | 36% | D |
| 4,304 | Moose Lake MN | 2,948 | $64K | 51.2% | 12.1% | 26% | D |
| 4,305 | L'Anse Township MI | 3,634 | $55K | 15.9% | 6.5% | 31% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 Havana, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work in the towns next to Havana
The biggest share goes to Havana Township (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Havana workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Havana | – | D | A− | 24 min | $41,184 |
| Havana Township | 2% | C− | B | 27 min | $58,125 |
| Isabel Township | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
| Waterford Township | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Isabel Township and Waterford Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Havana’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 Havana: questions
What is the median household income in Havana?
$41,184 (±$17,969) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Havana?
24.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Havana?
24 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Havana work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (9%, 41 mi), Canton (5%, 19 mi), Jacksonville (3%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Havana walkable?
Havana is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Havana without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Havana, from the people who make the trip.
More of Havana
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.