Photo: Kepper66 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Princeton earn less than those in 71% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Princeton is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (A). 12.7% of residents are in poverty, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Princeton and work: the main findings
Commutes from Princeton 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 ↓
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.
Princeton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Princeton’s grade.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Princeton could be anywhere from D to B−.
The trip to work from Princeton: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Princeton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,411 commuters (the 7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Princeton
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.
How a workday changes Princeton
On a workday 2,283 residents head out to work, 1,053 work right here, and 2,829 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 (1.16 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.
Where Princeton goes to work
Where Princeton clocks in
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Princeton
3,882 jobs are based in Princeton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 4,943 → 3,882. 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 Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Princeton, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,676 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). 11.6% of Princeton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Princeton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Princeton places 2,386th of 3,051 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,384 | Manlius Township IL | 6,068 | $69K | 19.8% | 5.3% | 8% | C |
| 2,385 | Ware MA | 10,128 | $67K | 11.8% | 9.2% | 15% | C |
| 2,386 | Princeton IL | 7,674 | $62K | 12.7% | 5.4% | 32% | C |
| 2,387 | Wytheville VA | 8,128 | $47K | 21.2% | 2.4% | 35% | C |
| 2,388 | Powell WY | 6,574 | $64K | 12.8% | 3.7% | 44% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,051 | 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 Princeton, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Princeton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Princeton Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Princeton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | – | C | A | 18 min | $61,946 |
| Princeton Township | 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Dover Township | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Princeton Township: not graded. Dover Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Princeton’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 Princeton: questions
What is the median household income in Princeton?
$61,946 (±$6,874) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Princeton?
12.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Princeton?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Princeton work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Peoria (4%, 44 mi), Peru (4%, 17 mi), Spring Valley (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Princeton walkable?
Princeton is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Princeton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Princeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Princeton
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.