Photo: ProfDEH · Public domainHouseholds in Metamora have higher incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers; Illinois has 16%. Below the poverty line: 3.6% of residents; Illinois has 11.8%. The two grades for Metamora are A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Metamora: the gist
The better-paid jobs are outside Metamora
61% of Metamora residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Metamora pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 87% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Metamora are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Metamora than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Metamora fell from 1,804 in 2013 to 1,319 in 2023, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Metamora pay little
27% of the jobs based in Metamora 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.
The figures behind Metamora’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Metamora is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #41 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment is its strongest input (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Metamora could be anywhere from A to A+.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Metamora
1,319 jobs are based in Metamora.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Metamora, 2013 → 2023: 1,804 → 1,319. 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 Metamora’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Metamora’s commute takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Metamora workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,065 commuters (the 8% 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.
Who commutes out of Metamora, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,512 residents head out to work, 224 work right here, and 1,095 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Metamora on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
25% of working residents work in Peoria
Where Metamora clocks in
Lines 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.
How far Metamora goes to work
About 19% 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.
Most of Metamora commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Metamora is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns, #594 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Metamora 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 2,238 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). 1.5% of Metamora households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Metamora’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200, Metamora ranks 159th of 4,264 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 157 | North Hampton NH | 4,526 | $146K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 7% | A+ |
| 158 | North Richmond CA | 3,855 | $101K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 2% | A+ |
| 159 | Metamora IL | 3,857 | $129K | 3.6% | 0.0% | 13% | A+ |
| 160 | Spring Lake Township MN | 3,498 | $147K | 5.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| 161 | Hay Creek Township ND | 4,380 | $161K | 0.7% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Metamora, 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 Metamora: questions
What is the median household income in Metamora?
$129,479 (±$20,046) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Metamora?
3.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Metamora?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Metamora work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Peoria (25%, 13 mi), East Peoria (7%, 12 mi), Morton (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Metamora walkable?
Metamora is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Metamora without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Metamora, from the people who make the trip.
More of Metamora
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.