Household incomes in Mendota trail those of 86% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers, where Illinois as a whole has 16%. Poverty touches 14.1% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Mendota grades C− for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Mendota at work: what stands out
Commutes from Mendota 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 Mendota workers work from home
Only 2% 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 ↓
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 Mendota
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mendota is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #674 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Mendota’s grade up (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($51,632, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mendota could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily trip from Mendota: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mendota workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,450 commuters (the 2% 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.
Half of Mendota commutes less than 21 miles
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.
The daily commute in and out of Mendota
On a workday 2,395 residents head out to work, 778 work right here, and 1,602 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in Mendota on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 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.
8% of working residents work in Peru
Where Mendota clocks in
8% 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.
Mendota makes things: 29% of its jobs are in goods
2,380 jobs are based in Mendota.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mendota, 2013 → 2023: 3,040 → 2,380. 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 Mendota’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Mendota: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mendota is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #450 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 3,523 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). 9.9% of Mendota households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mendota’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Mendota is 2,611th among 3,229 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,609 | Woodstock VA | 6,002 | $76K | 22.1% | 5.6% | 21% | C− |
| 2,610 | Delaware Township PA | 7,834 | $86K | 11.1% | 7.5% | 6% | C− |
| 2,611 | Mendota IL | 6,894 | $52K | 14.1% | 4.8% | 25% | C− |
| 2,612 | Cameron TX | 5,489 | $62K | 19.6% | 3.8% | 25% | C− |
| 2,613 | Winnemucca NV | 8,307 | $82K | 14.0% | 5.7% | 42% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Mendota, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work in the towns next to Mendota
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mendota workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendota | – | C− | B | 20 min | $51,632 |
| Mendota Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Meriden Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Mendota Township: not graded. Meriden Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mendota’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 Mendota: questions
What is the median household income in Mendota?
$51,632 (±$13,224) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mendota?
14.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mendota?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mendota work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Peru (8%, 14 mi), Chicago (5%, 76 mi), Ottawa (3%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mendota walkable?
Mendota is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mendota 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 Mendota, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mendota
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.