Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC BY-SA 4.0Making a living in Shabbona
Commuters spend 35 minutes getting to work on average, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26. For 3% of workers, the job is at home, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. Only 5% stay in Shabbona for work; outside it, DeKalb is the main destination (8%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Shabbona, in a few figures
The better-paid jobs are outside Shabbona
60% of Shabbona residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 28% of the jobs based in Shabbona pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Shabbona pay little
31% of the jobs based in Shabbona pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Shabbona workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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 396 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs in Shabbona: what the 321 are
321 jobs are based in Shabbona.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shabbona, 2013 → 2023: 252 → 321. 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 Shabbona’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 35 minutes each way for Shabbona’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shabbona workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 185 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 378 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 303 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 (0.81 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.
The towns that employ Shabbona’s residents
Where Shabbona clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
Shabbona’s commute, mile by mile
About 19% 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.
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 Shabbona: questions
What is the median household income in Shabbona?
$63,750 (±$22,601) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shabbona?
13.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shabbona?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shabbona work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are DeKalb (8%, 13 mi), Aurora (6%, 30 mi), Chicago (5%, 62 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Shabbona 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 Shabbona, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shabbona
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.