Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMetropolis’ household incomes are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns
At home: 5% of workers have no commute at all (Illinois 16%). 17.6% of residents are in poverty, against 11.8% across Illinois. Metropolis 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
What stands out about work in Metropolis
A lot of Metropolis workers cross into Kentucky
38% of Metropolis workers work outside Illinois, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Paducah (22%), Calvert City (2%) and Evansville (1%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Metropolis are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Metropolis trades workers with the towns around it
Metropolis has about as many jobs (2,303) as working residents (2,305), but they are mostly different people: 1,668 residents leave for work each day while 1,666 people come in. Only 28% of the jobs in Metropolis are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Metropolis workers earn over $40,000 a year
42% of Metropolis’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Metropolis
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Metropolis is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #691 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Metropolis’ grade up (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 11% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Metropolis could be anywhere from D to C+.
22% of working residents work in Paducah
Where Metropolis clocks in
22% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
About 16 minutes each way for Metropolis’ commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Metropolis workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,163 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.
A workday in Metropolis: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,668 residents head out to work, 637 work right here, and 1,666 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 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.
The 2,303 jobs based in Metropolis
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Metropolis, 2013 → 2023: 2,454 → 2,303. 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 Metropolis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Metropolis commutes
About 25% 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.
For most of Metropolis, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Metropolis is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #365 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Metropolis 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 2,287 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). 8.2% of Metropolis households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Metropolis’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Metropolis ranks: 2,831st of 3,476 U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,700
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Grandwood Park IL | 5,262 | $127K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,829 | Luzerne Township PA | 5,433 | $58K | 16.8% | 4.7% | 5% | C− |
| 2,830 | Cocoa West FL | 5,923 | $34K | 34.1% | 3.5% | 2% | C− |
| 2,831 | Metropolis IL | 5,727 | $50K | 17.6% | 2.6% | 28% | C− |
| 2,832 | Monessen PA | 6,657 | $53K | 20.8% | 6.0% | 9% | C− |
| 2,833 | Sandy Oaks TX | 5,874 | $51K | 16.7% | 9.1% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | 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 Metropolis, 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 Metropolis: questions
What is the median household income in Metropolis?
$50,399 (±$4,985) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Metropolis?
17.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Metropolis?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Metropolis work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paducah (22%, 6 mi), Calvert City (2%, 18 mi), Marion (2%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Metropolis walkable?
Metropolis is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Metropolis without a car?
<1% 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 Metropolis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Metropolis
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.