Charleston is a medium-sized city located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 17,119 people and five associated neighborhoods, Charleston is the 148th largest community in Illinois.

Also of interest is that Charleston has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.78% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Charleston is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Charleston area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Charleston maintain a good economy.

One of the benefits of Charleston is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.96 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

The education level of Charleston citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.10% of adults in Charleston have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Charleston in 2022 was $28,162, which is lower middle income relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $112,648 for a family of four. However, Charleston contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Charleston is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Charleston home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Charleston residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Charleston include German, Irish, English, Italian, and French.

The most common language spoken in Charleston is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.