Illinois Waterway Project Office · Photo: Grogan, Brian · Public domainPeoria has higher unemployment (7.5%) than 86% of U.S. towns
About half work in Peoria itself; outside it, East Peoria draws the most (5%, 7 miles). Jobs and income earn Peoria C; getting around on foot earns it A. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Peoria
Commutes from Peoria are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Peoria is where the jobs are
Peoria has 75,989 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Peoria
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Peoria is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #661 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Peoria’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Peoria could be anywhere from C− to C.
Peoria’s commute takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Peoria workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 43,850 commuters (the 12% 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.
Peoria on a workday afternoon
On a workday 23,686 residents head out to work, 21,059 work right here, and 54,930 people come in from elsewhere.
About 142,000 people are in Peoria on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Peoria
Where Peoria clocks in
3% 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.
Inside Peoria’s 75,989 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Peoria, 2013 → 2023: 71,284 → 75,989. 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 Peoria’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Peoria, by distance
About 24% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Peoria
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Peoria is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #159 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.3% 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 49,630 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 45% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.1% of Peoria households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Peoria’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Peoria and other U.S. towns of 78,000 to 150,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Northfield Township IL | 89,835 | $137K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | Pine Hills FL | 80,105 | $59K | 17.5% | 11.6% | 2% | C |
| 343 | South Bend IN | 103,201 | $56K | 20.8% | 6.5% | 34% | C |
| 344 | Peoria IL | 110,920 | $59K | 21.0% | 7.5% | 47% | C |
| 345 | Savannah GA | 149,440 | $57K | 19.7% | 7.2% | 51% | C |
| 346 | Beaumont TX | 112,967 | $57K | 21.2% | 6.4% | 45% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 378 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Peoria, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Peoria compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Peoria Heights (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Peoria workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria | – | C | A | 18 min | $59,410 |
| Peoria City Township | under 2% | C− | A | 18 min | $52,321 |
| Richwoods Township | under 2% | B− | A− | 17 min | $60,099 |
| Peoria Heights | 2% | B− | A− | 17 min | $60,099 |
| West Peoria | under 2% | C+ | B+ | 16 min | $66,098 |
| Medina Township | under 2% | A− | C+ | 20 min | $124,087 |
| Kickapoo Township | under 2% | A− | C | 21 min | $112,391 |
| Fondulac Township | under 2% | B | A | 21 min | $74,478 |
| Limestone Township | under 2% | B+ | B | 21 min | $71,380 |
| Spring Bay Township | under 2% | B | D | 22 min | $75,846 |
| Creve Coeur | under 2% | C+ | C | 16 min | $47,993 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Peoria’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 Peoria: questions
What is the median household income in Peoria?
$59,410 (±$2,144) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Peoria?
21.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Peoria?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Peoria work?
47% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Peoria (5%, 7 mi), Chicago (3%, 125 mi), Mossville (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Peoria walkable?
Peoria is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Peoria without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 45% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Peoria, from the people who make the trip.
More of Peoria
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.