Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Mattoon have lower incomes than those in 86% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 21.3% of residents (Illinois 11.8%). The two grades for Mattoon are D for jobs and income and B for walkability. Home is the office for 5% of workers; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Mattoon apart
Commutes from Mattoon are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Mattoon draws workers from far and wide
The 10,420 jobs in Mattoon are filled from a wide area. Mattoon’s own residents hold 23% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Mattoon: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mattoon is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #724 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Mattoon’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mattoon could be anywhere from D to C.
Time on the road from Mattoon: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mattoon workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,670 commuters (the 5% 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.
8% of working residents work in Charleston
Where Mattoon clocks in
8% of workers
4% 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.
Who works in Mattoon, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 4,916 residents head out to work, 2,401 work right here, and 8,019 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Mattoon on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.42 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.
Jobs in Mattoon: what the 10,420 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mattoon, 2013 → 2023: 9,606 → 10,420. 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 Mattoon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Mattoon works
About 20% 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 Mattoon: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mattoon is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #445 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Mattoon 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 6,992 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). 9.8% of Mattoon households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mattoon’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Mattoon compares with U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,858 | Hibbing MN | 15,823 | $56K | 16.2% | 6.3% | 50% | C− |
| 1,859 | Greeneville TN | 16,141 | $50K | 18.5% | 8.4% | 44% | C− |
| 1,860 | Mattoon IL | 16,667 | $52K | 21.3% | 6.5% | 33% | D |
| 1,861 | Elizabeth City NC | 19,622 | $52K | 13.3% | 7.0% | 35% | D |
| 1,862 | Anniston AL | 20,930 | $47K | 20.6% | 6.4% | 28% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Mattoon, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Mattoon and its neighbors: 19% work next door
The biggest share goes to Charleston (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mattoon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattoon | – | D | B | 18 min | $51,597 |
| Lafayette Township | 7% | B | C− | 22 min | $69,125 |
| Charleston | 8% | D | A | 15 min | $49,300 |
| Mattoon Township | 4% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Humboldt Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 21 min | $85,745 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mattoon Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mattoon’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 Mattoon: questions
What is the median household income in Mattoon?
$51,597 (±$4,622) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mattoon?
21.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mattoon?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mattoon work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charleston (8%, 10 mi), Lafayette Township (7%, 4 mi), Effingham (4%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mattoon walkable?
Mattoon is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mattoon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mattoon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mattoon
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.