Households in Norris City have lower incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
6% of workers have no commute at all, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. 14.6% of residents are in poverty, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Jobs and income earn Norris City D; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Norris City in brief
Many jobs in Norris City pay little
29% of the jobs based in Norris City pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Norris City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Norris City fell from 554 in 2014 to 392 in 2024, −29%. 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 ↓
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; with 419 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Norris City’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Norris City is better than 7% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Norris City’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($42,333, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (10.3%) is left out: Norris City’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Norris City could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The 392 jobs based in Norris City
392 jobs are based in Norris City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norris City, 2014 → 2024: 554 → 392. 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 Norris City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Norris City on a workday
On a workday 366 residents head out to work, 53 work right here, and 339 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 (0.94 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.
15% of working residents work in Carmi
Where Norris City clocks in
15% of workers
5% of workers
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.
From Norris City, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norris City workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 572 commuters (the 6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Norris City
About 23% 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 Norris City: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norris City is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 610 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). 14.9% of Norris City households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Norris City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Norris City next to U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500: 3,261st of 3,771 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,259 | Columbia Township OH | 1,189 | $59K | 22.4% | 0.0% | <1% | D |
| 3,260 | Shell Knob MO | 1,486 | $55K | 14.7% | 8.4% | 5% | D |
| 3,261 | Norris City IL | 1,083 | $42K | 14.6% | 10.3% | 13% | D |
| 3,262 | Montpelier IN | 1,489 | $45K | 21.2% | 2.5% | 6% | D |
| 3,263 | South Shore KY | 1,035 | $29K | 23.1% | 23.0% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Norris City, 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 Norris City: questions
What is the median household income in Norris City?
$42,333 (±$16,702) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norris City?
14.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norris City?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norris City work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Carmi (15%, 11 mi), Evansville (5%, 43 mi), Eldorado (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Norris City walkable?
Norris City is more walkable than 68% 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 Norris City without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norris City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norris City
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.