Photo: Kepper66 · CC BY-SA 3.0Moline has higher unemployment (6.8%) than 81% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Moline C+; getting around on foot earns it A−. About one in five work in Moline itself; outside it, Davenport draws the most (15%, 8 miles). Home is the office for 10% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Moline stands out on work
Moline trades workers with the towns around it
Moline has about as many jobs (18,328) as working residents (17,325), but they are mostly different people: 13,778 residents leave for work each day while 14,781 people come in. Only 19% of the jobs in Moline are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Moline workers cross into Iowa
26% of Moline workers work outside Illinois, most of them in Iowa, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Moline 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 ↓
Most Moline residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Many of the people who work in Moline live in another state
Davenport, IA (9%) and Bettendorf, IA (5%) are among the top places Moline’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 14% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. 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.
Moline’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Moline is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #592 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Moline’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Moline could be anywhere from C to B−.
Who works in Moline, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 13,778 residents head out to work, 3,547 work right here, and 14,781 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 (1.06 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.
Where the trip to work from Moline ends
Where Moline clocks in
15% of workers
12% of workers
8% 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 18 minutes to work from Moline
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Moline workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,875 commuters (the 10% 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 Moline commutes less than 6 miles
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.
Inside Moline’s 18,328 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Moline, 2013 → 2023: 23,145 → 18,328. 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 Moline’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Moline
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Moline is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #301 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Moline 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 19,821 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). 7.7% of Moline households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Moline’s commuters take a bus or train.
816th of 994: where Moline ranks among U.S. towns of 30,000 to 57,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 814 | Prescott AZ | 48,420 | $71K | 11.7% | 4.5% | 37% | C+ |
| 815 | Bremerton WA | 45,482 | $75K | 13.8% | 5.7% | 19% | C+ |
| 816 | Moline IL | 42,362 | $68K | 15.5% | 6.8% | 20% | C+ |
| 817 | Palm Springs CA | 45,315 | $73K | 11.8% | 7.7% | 30% | C+ |
| 818 | Grand Island NE | 53,943 | $64K | 15.2% | 4.6% | 65% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 994 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Moline, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
23% of Moline works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Rock Island (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Moline workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moline | – | C+ | A− | 18 min | $67,701 |
| Rock Island | 12% | C | A− | 19 min | $59,041 |
| Moline Township | under 2% | C+ | A− | 18 min | $62,396 |
| East Moline | 8% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $61,779 |
| Rock Island Arsenal | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| South Moline Township | under 2% | C+ | B+ | 18 min | $67,829 |
| Coal Valley | under 2% | A | D | 20 min | $106,850 |
| Rock Island Township | under 2% | C− | A | 18 min | $41,155 |
| South Rock Island Township | under 2% | C+ | B+ | 20 min | $69,711 |
| Coal Valley Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Milan | 3% | B | A− | 22 min | $62,597 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rock Island Arsenal: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Coal Valley Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Moline’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 Moline: questions
What is the median household income in Moline?
$67,701 (±$4,406) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Moline?
15.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Moline?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Moline work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Davenport (15%, 8 mi), Rock Island (12%, 5 mi), East Moline (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Moline walkable?
Moline is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Moline without a car?
2% 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 Moline, from the people who make the trip.
More of Moline
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.