Photo: Marksingley · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Marshall (2.3%) than in 80% of U.S. towns
Marshall grades B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. At home: 3% of workers have no commute at all (Illinois 16%). About one in four work in Marshall; the top destination outside it is Terre Haute (10%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Marshall stands out on work
A lot of Marshall workers cross into Indiana
24% of Marshall workers work outside Illinois, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Terre Haute (10%) and Honey Creek Township (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Marshall are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Marshall 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Marshall makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Marshall are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Marshall residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 29%. 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.
Jobs & income in Marshall: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Marshall is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #456 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Marshall’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marshall could be anywhere from C to A−.
Where Marshall’s working residents head each day
Where Marshall clocks in
10% of workers
3% 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.
Commuting from Marshall: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marshall workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,801 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.
How far Marshall goes to work
About 35% 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.
Marshall makes things: 36% of its jobs are in goods
1,909 jobs are based in Marshall.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marshall, 2013 → 2023: 1,672 → 1,909. 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 Marshall’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Marshall, and who commutes in
On a workday 971 residents head out to work, 366 work right here, and 1,543 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Marshall on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.43 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.
In Marshall, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Marshall is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #358 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Marshall 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 1,862 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). 8.5% of Marshall households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Marshall’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Marshall ranks: 1,891st of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,889 | Clearcreek Township OH | 4,165 | $98K | 8.5% | 5.2% | 3% | B |
| 1,890 | Big Pine Key FL | 4,258 | $110K | 10.7% | 1.9% | 14% | B |
| 1,891 | Marshall IL | 3,880 | $76K | 6.8% | 2.3% | 27% | B |
| 1,892 | Mound Township IL | 3,508 | $75K | 10.9% | 0.8% | 17% | B |
| 1,893 | Chatham NY | 4,009 | $107K | 7.4% | 4.4% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | 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 Marshall, 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 Marshall: questions
What is the median household income in Marshall?
$76,250 (±$15,273) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marshall?
6.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marshall?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marshall work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Terre Haute (10%, 17 mi), Casey (3%, 17 mi), Robinson (3%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Marshall walkable?
Marshall is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marshall without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marshall, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marshall
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.