Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5For about half of its working residents, Niantic is a commute to Decatur
The average commute takes 25 minutes each way, next to 28 for Illinois and 26 for the U.S. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. Only 2% stay in Niantic for work; outside it, Decatur is the main destination (50%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Niantic, in a few figures
More than half of Niantic works in Decatur
108 working residents, 50%, have their main job in Decatur, 12 miles away. That’s 25 times as many as work in Niantic itself. The commute map ↓
Niantic is a place people come home to
There are 60 jobs based in Niantic, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Niantic has about 420 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; with 218 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Niantic to work: where people go
Where Niantic clocks in
4% 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.
How a workday changes Niantic
On a workday 214 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 56 people come in from elsewhere.
About 420 people are in Niantic on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.28 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Niantic
60 jobs are based in Niantic.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Niantic, 2013 → 2023: 62 → 60. 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 Niantic’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Niantic: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Niantic workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 274 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.
Half of Niantic commutes less than 13 miles
About 27% 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.
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 Niantic: questions
What is the median household income in Niantic?
$67,155 (±$9,377) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Niantic?
7.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Niantic?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Niantic work?
2% work in town.
Can you get around Niantic without a car?
0% 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 Niantic, from the people who make the trip.
More of Niantic
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.