Households in Silvis earn less than those in 70% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, against 16% across Illinois. The poverty rate is 15.4%, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Silvis grades B− 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
The work figures that set Silvis apart
A lot of Silvis workers cross into Iowa
24% of Silvis workers work outside Illinois, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Davenport (11%) and Bettendorf (4%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Silvis and Moline trade workers both ways
Moline is the top workplace for Silvis residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Silvis come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Silvis are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 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.
Where Silvis’ Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Silvis is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #522 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Silvis’ grade up (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Silvis could be anywhere from C− to A−.
15% of working residents work in Moline
Where Silvis clocks in
15% of workers
11% of workers
11% 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.
About 20 minutes to work from Silvis
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Silvis workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,539 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.
Who leaves Silvis for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,150 residents head out to work, 200 work right here, and 1,836 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,700 people are in Silvis on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
The 2,036 jobs based in Silvis
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Silvis, 2013 → 2023: 2,694 → 2,036. 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 Silvis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Silvis
About 23% 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.
The commute in Silvis is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Silvis is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #500 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Silvis 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 3,735 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). 9.6% of Silvis households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Silvis’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Silvis is 1,866th of 3,015 U.S. towns of 5,600 to 10,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,864 | Verona NY | 5,835 | $84K | 6.7% | 7.5% | 17% | B− |
| 1,865 | Craig CO | 8,874 | $73K | 8.9% | 2.5% | 34% | B− |
| 1,866 | Silvis IL | 7,979 | $62K | 15.4% | 3.7% | 6% | B− |
| 1,867 | Wauseon OH | 7,430 | $64K | 8.9% | 4.5% | 29% | B− |
| 1,868 | Monroe WI | 10,581 | $69K | 8.9% | 4.3% | 46% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,015 | 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 Silvis, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
11% of Silvis works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Silvis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silvis | – | B− | B | 20 min | $62,375 |
| Carbon Cliff | under 3% | C | B+ | 19 min | $55,536 |
| East Moline | 11% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $61,779 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to East Moline. Darker towns draw more of Silvis’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 Silvis: questions
What is the median household income in Silvis?
$62,375 (±$16,305) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Silvis?
15.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Silvis?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Silvis work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Moline (15%, 4 mi), Davenport (11%, 11 mi), East Moline (11%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Silvis walkable?
Silvis is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Silvis without a car?
2% 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 Silvis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Silvis
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.