Sheridan has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B−: better than 49% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability C: more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns.
Household incomes here are higher than in 62% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 39 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Sheridan; the top destination outside it is Ottawa (8%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Sheridan, in brief
The jobs in Sheridan pay better than its residents’ jobs
81% of the jobs based in Sheridan pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 53% of the jobs Sheridan residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Sheridan. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% 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 ↓
Sheridan workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 84 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 823 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Sheridan’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Sheridan is better than 49% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Sheridan’s grade up ($85,250, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (7.9%) is left out: Sheridan’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, Sheridan could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
527 jobs are based in Sheridan. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sheridan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sheridan, 2013 → 2023: 644 → 527. 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.
Half of Sheridan commutes less than 34 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 37% 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.
About 39 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sheridan workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 416 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Sheridan quiets down on a workday
On a workday 816 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 520 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Sheridan on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.64 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 Ottawa
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Sheridan clocks in
8% of workers
8% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Most trips from Sheridan start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sheridan is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Sheridan near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 464 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). 0.5% of Sheridan households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sheridan’s commuters take a bus or train.
Sheridan is 2,196th of 5,148 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Sheridan, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,194 | Jackson Township OH | 2,786 | $75K | 19.2% | 0.5% | 3% | B− |
| 2,195 | Milton Township OH | 2,408 | $73K | 9.1% | 0.0% | 1% | B− |
| 2,196 | Sheridan IL | 2,094 | $85K | 10.9% | 7.9% | 1% | B− |
| 2,197 | Rockwell NC | 2,417 | $70K | 7.0% | 5.3% | 6% | B− |
| 2,198 | Fredericktown OH | 2,658 | $66K | 12.5% | 2.4% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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.
Sheridan and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Sheridan’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sheridan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan | – | B− | C | 39 min | $85,250 |
| Mission Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 38 min | $85,727 |
| Serena Township | under 2% | B+ | D− | 46 min | $104,236 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Sheridan: questions
What is the median household income in Sheridan?
$85,250 (±$19,517) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sheridan?
10.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sheridan?
39 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sheridan work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ottawa (8%, 14 mi), Chicago (8%, 56 mi), Morris (3%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sheridan walkable?
Sheridan is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sheridan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sheridan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sheridan
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.