Prophetstown’s household incomes are lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
3% of workers work from home (Illinois 16%). 11.7% of residents are in poverty (Illinois 11.8%). Prophetstown grades C for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Prophetstown and work: the main findings
Few Prophetstown workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Prophetstown than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Prophetstown fell from 800 in 2013 to 575 in 2023, −28%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Prophetstown are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 842 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Prophetstown’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Prophetstown is better than 28% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Prophetstown’s grade.
Unemployment (7.2%) is left out: Prophetstown’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Prophetstown could be anywhere from D to B−.
From Prophetstown, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Prophetstown workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 699 commuters (the 3% 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.
Jobs in Prophetstown: what the 575 are
575 jobs are based in Prophetstown.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Prophetstown, 2013 → 2023: 800 → 575. 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 Prophetstown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Prophetstown: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 720 residents head out to work, 122 work right here, and 453 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Prophetstown on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.68 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
8% of working residents work in Sterling
Where Prophetstown clocks in
8% of workers
5% of workers
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.
Miles to work from Prophetstown
About 25% 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.
Getting around Prophetstown: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Prophetstown is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 719 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). 5.9% of Prophetstown households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Prophetstown’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,549th of 5,656: where Prophetstown ranks among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,547 | East Taylor Township PA | 2,344 | $70K | 10.8% | 10.1% | 5% | C |
| 3,548 | Fannett Township PA | 2,498 | $66K | 18.8% | 2.5% | 7% | C |
| 3,549 | Prophetstown IL | 1,887 | $65K | 11.7% | 7.2% | 14% | C |
| 3,550 | Pocahontas IA | 1,803 | $67K | 8.7% | 4.1% | 37% | C |
| 3,551 | Syracuse KS | 1,810 | $67K | 7.7% | 4.1% | 33% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Prophetstown, 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 Prophetstown: questions
What is the median household income in Prophetstown?
$65,125 (±$13,268) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Prophetstown?
11.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Prophetstown?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Prophetstown work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sterling (8%, 15 mi), Morrison (5%, 10 mi), Erie (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Prophetstown walkable?
Prophetstown is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Prophetstown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Prophetstown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Prophetstown
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.