Oglesby has higher unemployment (6.6%) than 79% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Oglesby for work; outside it, Peru is the main destination (16%, 6 miles). Jobs and income earn Oglesby C+; getting around on foot earns it B−. For 2% of workers, the job is at home (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Oglesby: the figures worth knowing
Oglesby and Peru trade workers both ways
Peru is the top workplace for Oglesby residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Oglesby come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Oglesby 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 ↓
Commutes from Oglesby are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Oglesby’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oglesby is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #576 of 768 in Illinois. Household income holds Oglesby’s grade up ($76,189, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oglesby could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Out of Oglesby to work: where people go
Where Oglesby clocks in
16% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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 23 minutes each way for Oglesby’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oglesby workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,649 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.
The daily flow of workers through Oglesby
On a workday 1,581 residents head out to work, 167 work right here, and 1,256 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 (0.81 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.
Inside Oglesby’s 1,423 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oglesby, 2013 → 2023: 1,402 → 1,423. 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 Oglesby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Oglesby
About 30% 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.
For most of Oglesby, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oglesby is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns, #568 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 1,679 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). 3.2% of Oglesby households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Oglesby’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Oglesby is 2,781st among 4,474 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Lakewood IL | 4,293 | $174K | 3.5% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,779 | Mountain View NC | 3,982 | $72K | 20.4% | 4.1% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,780 | Leadville CO | 2,668 | $86K | 13.5% | 3.1% | 19% | C+ |
| 2,781 | Oglesby IL | 3,618 | $76K | 9.6% | 6.6% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,782 | Tomahawk WI | 3,387 | $60K | 12.5% | 1.5% | 26% | C+ |
| 2,783 | Chesaning Township MI | 4,654 | $62K | 11.3% | 3.5% | 25% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Oglesby, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Oglesby: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oglesby workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oglesby | – | C+ | B− | 23 min | $76,189 |
| LaSalle Township | under 2% | C | B | 21 min | $61,240 |
| Deer Park Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Deer Park Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oglesby’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 Oglesby: questions
What is the median household income in Oglesby?
$76,189 (±$8,746) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oglesby?
9.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oglesby?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oglesby work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Peru (16%, 6 mi), LaSalle (8%, 3 mi), Ottawa (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oglesby walkable?
Oglesby is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oglesby without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oglesby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oglesby
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.