Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Peru (2.5%) is lower than in 77% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Peru is better than 63% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). 5% of workers work from home; Illinois has 16%. Working residents average 19 minutes each way; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Peru: the gist
Commutes from Peru are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Peru is where the jobs are
Peru has 7,744 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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.
Why Peru gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Peru’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($74,808, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Peru could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
How long Peru spends getting to work: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Peru workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,735 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.
The daily commute in and out of Peru
On a workday 3,572 residents head out to work, 1,041 work right here, and 6,703 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Peru on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
How far Peru goes to work
About 34% 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.
Commuting in to Peru: where workers come from
Where Peru clocks in
11% of workers
5% 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 Peru’s 7,744 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Peru, 2013 → 2023: 7,260 → 7,744. 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 Peru’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Peru is mostly behind the wheel
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 5,006 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). 8.6% of Peru households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Peru’s commuters take a bus or train.
Peru is 1,333rd of 2,800 U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,200 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Winnetka IL | 12,518 | $250K | 1.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,331 | Alondra Park CA | 8,373 | $87K | 12.2% | 5.5% | 2% | B |
| 1,332 | White Knoll SC | 8,310 | $80K | 11.0% | 3.2% | 2% | B |
| 1,333 | Peru IL | 9,780 | $75K | 9.0% | 2.5% | 23% | B |
| 1,334 | University of California-Santa Barbara CA | 12,121 | $69K | 17.5% | 14.4% | 15% | B |
| 1,335 | Fultondale AL | 9,307 | $74K | 12.5% | 3.3% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,800 | 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 Peru, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 11% of Peru’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Peru workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | – | B | B | 19 min | $74,808 |
| LaSalle | 11% | C | B+ | 20 min | $57,732 |
| Peru Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Dalzell | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| LaSalle Township | under 2% | C | B | 21 min | $61,240 |
| Dimmick Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Peru Township: not graded. Dalzell and Dimmick Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to LaSalle. Darker towns draw more of Peru’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 Peru: questions
What is the median household income in Peru?
$74,808 (±$9,191) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Peru?
9.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Peru?
19 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Peru work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are LaSalle (11%, 3 mi), Ottawa (5%, 16 mi), Spring Valley (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Peru walkable?
Peru is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Peru without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Peru, from the people who make the trip.
More of Peru
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.