Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY 2.5At 2.6%, unemployment in Lena is lower than in 76% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Lena itself; outside it, Freeport draws the most (15%, 11 miles). The two grades for Lena are B+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 3.1% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lena apart
The figures behind Lena’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lena is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #371 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Lena’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lena could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Where the trip to work from Lena ends
Where Lena clocks in
15% of workers
10% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Lena
On a workday 1,173 residents head out to work, 183 work right here, and 642 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Lena on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
Jobs in Lena: what the 825 are
825 jobs are based in Lena.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lena, 2013 → 2023: 625 → 825. 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 Lena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Lena
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lena workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,279 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.
Lena’s commute, mile by mile
About 26% 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.
Getting around Lena: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lena is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #604 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% 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 1,434 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). 4.9% of Lena households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lena’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lena is 1,408th of 4,797 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600 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 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,406 | Hyde Park VT | 2,958 | $84K | 5.9% | 1.0% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,407 | Brighton IL | 2,162 | $80K | 10.1% | 2.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,408 | Lena IL | 2,670 | $73K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,409 | Durand Township IL | 2,301 | $67K | 5.1% | 2.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,410 | Ridge Township OH | 3,362 | $76K | 9.5% | 1.5% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Lena, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Lena compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Kent Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lena workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lena | – | B+ | C+ | 26 min | $72,663 |
| Erin Township | 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Kent Township | 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Erin Township and Kent Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lena’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 Lena: questions
What is the median household income in Lena?
$72,663 (±$8,639) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lena?
3.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lena?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lena work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (15%, 11 mi), Monroe (10%, 18 mi), Rockford (5%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lena walkable?
Lena is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lena without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lena
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.