Watseka Union Depot · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHouseholds in Watseka earn less than those in 94% of U.S. towns
For 5% of workers, the job is at home, where Illinois as a whole has 16%. 23.4% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Jobs and income earn Watseka D; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Watseka stands out on work
Commutes from Watseka 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
35% 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.
What’s behind Watseka’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Watseka is better than 7% of U.S. towns, #757 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Watseka’s grade up (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($43,608, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Watseka could be anywhere from D− to C.
Watseka’s commute takes 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 Watseka workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,834 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.
The commute from Watseka, by distance
About 35% 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.
Who leaves Watseka for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,259 residents head out to work, 525 work right here, and 1,876 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,100 people are in Watseka on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 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 people from Watseka work
Where Watseka clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
What Watseka’s employers do
2,401 jobs are based in Watseka.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watseka, 2013 → 2023: 2,650 → 2,401. 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 Watseka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Watseka: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watseka is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #334 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Watseka 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 1,928 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). 6.7% of Watseka households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Watseka’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100, and where Watseka sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,628 | Heber-Overgaard AZ | 3,621 | $59K | 11.8% | 16.4% | 17% | D |
| 3,629 | Adel GA | 5,854 | $44K | 23.9% | 6.8% | 21% | D |
| 3,630 | Watseka IL | 4,510 | $44K | 23.4% | 5.8% | 29% | D |
| 3,631 | Scottsville KY | 4,673 | $36K | 21.9% | 8.7% | 26% | D |
| 3,632 | Ripley MS | 5,377 | $55K | 20.1% | 10.7% | 19% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Watseka, 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 Watseka: questions
What is the median household income in Watseka?
$43,608 (±$4,318) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watseka?
23.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watseka?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watseka work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kankakee (5%, 24 mi), Chicago (4%, 73 mi), Gilman (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Watseka walkable?
Watseka is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watseka without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watseka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watseka
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.