Photo: Jauerback · CC BY-SA 4.0Big Rock has higher household incomes than 96% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 3.2% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Big Rock grades A+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. For 35% of workers, the job is at home (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Big Rock apart
Big Rock’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Big Rock is Chicago, 44 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (45) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Big Rock than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Big Rock fell from 1,730 in 2013 to 423 in 2023, −76%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A lot of Big Rock works from home
35% of Big Rock workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. 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; with 570 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Big Rock’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($162,854, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Big Rock could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Near or far: the trip to work from Big Rock
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.
Factories, building and farms: 53% of the jobs in Big Rock
423 jobs are based in Big Rock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Rock, 2013 → 2023: 1,730 → 423. 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 Big Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 18 minutes in Big Rock
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Rock workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 609 commuters (the 35% 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.
In and out of Big Rock on a workday
On a workday 561 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 414 people come in from elsewhere.
About 940 people are in Big Rock on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
8% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Big Rock clocks in
8% of workers
5% 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.
Most trips from Big Rock start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Rock is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 4.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 942 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.0% of Big Rock households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Big Rock’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, Big Rock comes 91st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Westfield Center OH | 1,217 | $110K | 2.7% | 5.0% | 3% | A+ |
| 90 | Kaukauna WI | 1,295 | $122K | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 91 | Big Rock IL | 1,090 | $163K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 2% | A+ |
| 92 | Libertytown MD | 1,346 | $114K | 1.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 93 | Oakland MO | 1,372 | $115K | 6.4% | 5.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Big Rock, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Big Rock
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Rock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Rock | – | A+ | C− | 18 min | $162,854 |
| Sugar Grove | under 3% | A− | C+ | 29 min | $121,207 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big Rock’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 Big Rock: questions
What is the median household income in Big Rock?
$162,854 (±$34,587) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Rock?
3.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Rock?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Rock work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (8%, 44 mi), St. Charles (5%, 15 mi), Batavia (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big Rock walkable?
Big Rock is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Rock without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Rock
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.