Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Olney earn less than those in 74% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Olney is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (A−). 14.2% of residents live below the poverty line, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Home is the office for 5% of workers, against 16% across Illinois.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Olney apart on work
Commutes from Olney are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. 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.
What’s behind Olney’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Olney’s grade up (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Olney could be anywhere from D to B−.
The daily trip from Olney: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Olney workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,603 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.
How far Olney’s workers travel
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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,129 residents head out to work, 1,088 work right here, and 2,494 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 (1.11 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.
7% of working residents work in Olney Township
Where Olney clocks in
7% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
Jobs in Olney: what the 3,582 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Olney, 2013 → 2023: 4,465 → 3,582. 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 Olney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Olney is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,794 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). 12.7% of Olney households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Olney’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Olney is 2,566th of 3,042 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,564 | Tomah WI | 9,600 | $51K | 16.7% | 4.3% | 38% | C− |
| 2,565 | Canton Township PA | 8,269 | $61K | 19.7% | 8.3% | 6% | C− |
| 2,566 | Olney IL | 8,347 | $60K | 14.2% | 4.7% | 34% | C− |
| 2,567 | Aliquippa PA | 9,002 | $50K | 22.9% | 6.8% | 9% | C− |
| 2,568 | Liberty TX | 9,133 | $54K | 25.2% | 4.2% | 12% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,042 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Olney, 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 Olney: questions
What is the median household income in Olney?
$59,980 (±$8,256) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Olney?
14.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Olney?
17 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Olney work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Olney Township (7%, 1 mi), Flora (2%, 21 mi), Salem (2%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Olney walkable?
Olney is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Olney without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Olney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Olney
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.