Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Johnston City trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Johnston City D; getting around on foot earns it B−. Poverty touches 17.9% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Johnston City in brief
Commutes from Johnston City are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Johnston City workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Johnston City pay little
26% of the jobs based in Johnston City pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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 Johnston City
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Johnston City is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #738 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Johnston City’s grade up (ahead of 51% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($42,465, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Johnston City could be anywhere from D to B−.
About 14 minutes each way, quicker than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Johnston City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,290 commuters (the 3% 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.
What Johnston City’s employers do
452 jobs are based in Johnston City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Johnston City, 2013 → 2023: 406 → 452. 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 Johnston City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Johnston City
On a workday 1,210 residents head out to work, 110 work right here, and 342 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Johnston City on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
27% of working residents work in Marion
Where Johnston City clocks in
27% 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.
Johnston City’s commute, mile by mile
About 18% 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.
Few in Johnston City walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Johnston City is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #513 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Johnston 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 1,324 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). 3.9% of Johnston City households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Johnston City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Johnston City is 4,039th of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500 on jobs and income
| # | 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,037 | Richwood LA | 3,834 | $32K | 39.1% | 9.1% | <1% | D |
| 4,038 | Lindsay OK | 2,929 | $52K | 16.0% | 6.1% | 31% | D |
| 4,039 | Johnston City IL | 3,313 | $42K | 17.9% | 8.3% | 8% | D |
| 4,040 | Hanover IN | 3,866 | $54K | 13.1% | 9.0% | 11% | D |
| 4,041 | Greenville KY | 4,350 | $46K | 21.3% | 5.3% | 21% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Johnston City, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
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 Johnston City: questions
What is the median household income in Johnston City?
$42,465 (±$30,234) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Johnston City?
17.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Johnston City?
14 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Johnston City work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marion (27%, 6 mi), Herrin (7%, 6 mi), Carbondale (6%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Johnston City walkable?
Johnston City is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Johnston City without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Johnston City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Johnston City
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.