Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY 2.5At 9.3%, unemployment in Amboy Township is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Amboy Township itself; outside it, Dixon draws the most (12%, 11 miles). The two grades for Amboy Township are C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. For 2% of workers, the job is at home, where Illinois as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Amboy Township in brief
Amboy Township makes and builds things
59% of the jobs based in Amboy Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Amboy Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 27%. The jobs ↓
Few Amboy Township workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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.
The four measures behind Amboy Township’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Amboy Township is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #697 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Amboy Township’s grade up (11.7%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Amboy Township could be anywhere from D to B−.
A place that makes things: 59% of Amboy Township’s jobs are in goods
1,059 jobs are based in Amboy Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Amboy Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,078 → 1,059. 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 Amboy Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes to work from Amboy Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Amboy Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,425 commuters (the 2% 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.
How many miles Amboy Township commutes
About 34% 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 works in Amboy Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,087 residents head out to work, 180 work right here, and 879 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 (0.84 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.
The towns that employ Amboy Township’s residents
Where Amboy Township clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
5% 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.
In Amboy Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Amboy Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #557 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Amboy Township 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 1,450 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). 4.8% of Amboy Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Amboy Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Amboy Township is 3,890th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,888 | Mount Angel OR | 3,454 | $62K | 14.0% | 15.3% | 9% | C− |
| 3,889 | Wesleyville PA | 3,112 | $49K | 16.0% | 7.6% | 3% | C− |
| 3,890 | Amboy Township IL | 2,745 | $68K | 11.7% | 9.3% | 14% | C− |
| 3,891 | Sandcreek Township IN | 3,131 | $64K | 15.5% | 5.8% | 5% | C− |
| 3,892 | Cape Vincent NY | 2,439 | $61K | 9.3% | 3.9% | 14% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Amboy Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
11% of Amboy Township works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Amboy Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amboy Township | – | C− | B− | 28 min | $68,286 |
| Lee Center Township | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Marion Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| May Township | under 2% | — | — | 45 min | — |
| Amboy | 11% | C− | B | 28 min | $68,258 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lee Center Township, Marion Township and May Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Amboy. Darker towns draw more of Amboy 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 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 Amboy Township: questions
What is the median household income in Amboy Township?
$68,286 (±$5,490) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Amboy Township?
11.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Amboy Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Amboy Township work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dixon (12%, 11 mi), Amboy (11%, 0 mi), Chicago (5%, 86 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Amboy Township walkable?
Amboy Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Amboy Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Amboy Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Amboy Township
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.