Photo: Illinois2011 · CC BY 3.0Jobs and earnings in Alton Township, and the trip to work
Home is the office for 10% of workers (Illinois 16%). About one in five stay in Alton Township for work; outside it, Alton is the main destination (19%, 0 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 23 minutes, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Alton Township apart on work
Alton Township trades workers with the towns around it
Alton Township has about as many jobs (12,715) as working residents (10,640), but they are mostly different people: 8,572 residents leave for work each day while 10,647 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Alton Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Alton Township and Alton trade workers both ways
Alton is the top workplace for Alton Township residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Alton Township come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Alton Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
A workday in Alton Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 8,572 residents head out to work, 2,068 work right here, and 10,647 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 (1.20 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Alton Township ends
Where Alton Township clocks in
19% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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.
The daily trip from Alton Township: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alton Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,254 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
What the 12,715 jobs in Alton Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alton Township, 2014 → 2024: 13,515 → 12,715. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alton Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Alton Township
About 16% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The towns next door employ 28% of Alton Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alton Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton Township | – | — | — | 23 min | $54,568 |
| Alton | 19% | C | A− | 23 min | $54,568 |
| Wood River Township | under 2% | B− | B | 23 min | $62,083 |
| Godfrey | 6% | B+ | C | 26 min | $94,543 |
| East Alton | 3% | C+ | B+ | 22 min | $48,815 |
| Foster Township | under 2% | B | D | 27 min | $110,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Alton. Darker towns draw more of Alton Township’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 2024, 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 Alton Township: questions
What is the median household income in Alton Township?
$54,568 (±$4,656) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alton Township?
21.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alton Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alton Township work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alton (19%, 0 mi), Edwardsville (6%, 12 mi), St. Louis (6%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Alton Township 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 Alton Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alton Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.