Photo: Stevedrone91 · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Oregon (5.4%) is higher than in 67% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Oregon for work; outside it, Rockford is the main destination (12%, 22 miles). Oregon grades C for jobs and income and B for walkability. For 5% of workers, the job is at home, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Oregon apart
Oregon trades workers with the towns around it
Oregon has about as many jobs (1,537) as working residents (1,530), but they are mostly different people: 1,223 residents leave for work each day while 1,230 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Oregon are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Oregon are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Oregon’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Oregon is Rockford, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (176) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Many jobs in Oregon pay little
26% of the jobs based in Oregon pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Oregon’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oregon is better than 32% of U.S. towns, #610 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Oregon’s grade up (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oregon could be anywhere from D to B+.
The daily flow of workers through Oregon
On a workday 1,223 residents head out to work, 307 work right here, and 1,230 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 (1.00 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.
About 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oregon workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,423 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 it is to work from Oregon
About 22% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Oregon
1,537 jobs are based in Oregon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oregon, 2013 → 2023: 1,646 → 1,537. 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 Oregon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Oregon to work: where people go
Where Oregon clocks in
12% of workers
6% 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.
Most of Oregon commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oregon is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #469 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 1,491 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). 9.6% of Oregon households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oregon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oregon next to U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800: 2,997th of 4,355 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,995 | New Haven NY | 3,005 | $91K | 15.6% | 5.4% | 2% | C |
| 2,996 | Wolf Township PA | 3,084 | $71K | 13.1% | 6.1% | 3% | C |
| 2,997 | Oregon IL | 3,573 | $72K | 14.8% | 5.4% | 20% | C |
| 2,998 | Larned KS | 3,596 | $56K | 14.0% | 1.8% | 24% | C |
| 2,999 | Mondovi WI | 2,853 | $54K | 13.3% | 3.4% | 22% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | 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 Oregon, 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 Oregon: questions
What is the median household income in Oregon?
$71,841 (±$19,614) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oregon?
14.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oregon?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oregon work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (12%, 22 mi), Oregon-Nashua Township (6%, 2 mi), Dixon (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oregon walkable?
Oregon is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oregon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oregon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oregon
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.