Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Momence have lower incomes than those in 77% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 2% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. 10.1% of residents are in poverty, against 11.8% across Illinois. Momence grades C for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Momence at work: what stands out
Few Momence 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 ↓
Momence makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Momence are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Momence residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 23%. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Momence than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Momence fell from 2,427 in 2014 to 1,752 in 2024, −28%. 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 ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in Momence are in trade, transport and utilities, against 30% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Momence gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Momence is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #611 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Momence’s grade up (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($58,365, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Momence could be anywhere from D to B+.
Getting to work from Momence takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Momence workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,566 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.
A place that makes things: 37% of Momence’s jobs are in goods
1,752 jobs are based in Momence.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Momence, 2014 → 2024: 2,427 → 1,752. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Momence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Momence, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,183 residents head out to work, 183 work right here, and 1,569 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Momence on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Kankakee
Where Momence clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Momence
About 22% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Momence: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Momence is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #470 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Momence 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 1,601 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). 4.3% of Momence households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Momence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Momence places 3,172nd of 4,698 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,170 | Bonners Ferry ID | 2,797 | $53K | 13.4% | 0.7% | 29% | C |
| 3,171 | Georgetown IL | 3,006 | $58K | 17.3% | 2.7% | 7% | C |
| 3,172 | Momence IL | 3,158 | $58K | 10.1% | 6.1% | 13% | C |
| 3,173 | McLeansboro Township IL | 3,611 | $53K | 17.1% | 0.9% | 27% | C |
| 3,174 | Smithfield Township PA | 3,981 | $51K | 7.7% | 1.7% | 7% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Momence, 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 2024, 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 Momence: questions
What is the median household income in Momence?
$58,365 (±$19,163) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Momence?
10.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Momence?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Momence work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kankakee (9%, 11 mi), Chicago (8%, 46 mi), Momence Township (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Momence walkable?
Momence is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Momence without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Momence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Momence
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.