Photo: Nyttend · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Newton (1.3%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 9% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. Newton grades B− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in four stay in Newton for work; outside it, Effingham is the main destination (14%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Newton at work: what stands out
Newton trades workers with the towns around it
Newton has about as many jobs (1,234) as working residents (1,150), but they are mostly different people: 867 residents leave for work each day while 951 people come in. Only 23% of the jobs in Newton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Newton are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Newton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Newton is Effingham, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (166) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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 Newton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newton is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #530 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Newton’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 21% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newton could be anywhere from C− to B.
How a workday changes Newton
On a workday 867 residents head out to work, 283 work right here, and 951 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 (1.07 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.
Getting to work from Newton takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,333 commuters (the 9% 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.
Where in the region Newton works
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.
Where the trip to work from Newton ends
Where Newton clocks in
14% 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.
What the 1,234 jobs in Newton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newton, 2013 → 2023: 1,102 → 1,234. 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 Newton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Newton: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newton is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #345 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 1,460 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). 11.2% of Newton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Newton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Newton is 2,554th among 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 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% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,552 | Gregg Township PA | 2,242 | $67K | 9.0% | 3.0% | 5% | B− |
| 2,553 | Soulsbyville CA | 2,101 | $97K | 3.2% | 10.5% | 1% | B− |
| 2,554 | Newton IL | 2,715 | $62K | 11.1% | 1.3% | 25% | B− |
| 2,555 | Covington OH | 2,635 | $60K | 5.3% | 7.1% | 13% | B− |
| 2,556 | Ganges Township MI | 2,676 | $78K | 13.0% | 4.4% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Newton, 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 Newton: questions
What is the median household income in Newton?
$61,761 (±$8,115) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newton?
11.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newton?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newton work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Effingham (14%, 23 mi), Greenup (5%, 18 mi), Robinson (3%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newton walkable?
Newton is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newton without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newton
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.