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Bloomington, IL city hall 1 (cropped)Photo: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jobs & commute in Bloomington City Township

Bloomington draws about half of Bloomington City Township’s working residents

For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Bloomington City Township grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. About half work in Bloomington City Township; the top destination outside it is Bloomington (46%, 0 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

What sets Bloomington City Township apart on work

Commutes from Bloomington City Township are quick

The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 84 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.

Jobs & income grade

Why Bloomington City Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does

On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bloomington City Township is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #359 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Bloomington City Township’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.

Household income $77,384 (±$4,104) · IL $83,390 · U.S. $80,734Higher than 53% of U.S. towns
Poverty 11.0% · IL 11.8% · U.S. 12.5%Lower than 44% of U.S. towns
Unemployment 2.7% (±0.7) · IL 5.8% · U.S. 5.2%Lower than 75% of U.S. towns
Job access by car EPA, jobs within a 45-minute driveMore than 73% of U.S. towns
Illinois towns we grade 768 towns#359 of 768
BB+

A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bloomington City Township could be anywhere from B to B+.

How TownRatings grades jobs & income →

Time on the road

About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of Illinois

A year of commuting
129 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Bloomington City Township17 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
21%

of Bloomington City Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Bloomington City Township gets to work
84%Drive alone
10%Carpool
1%Transit
3%Walk
<1%Bike
1%Other

Share of the 32,003 commuters (the 21% 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.

Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Bloomington City Township

On a workday 19,427 residents head out to work, 16,539 work right here, and 32,894 people come in from elsewhere.

19,427live here, work elsewhere
16,539live and work here
32,894work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night79,000
Workday92,000
79,000live here− 19,000head out to work+ 33,000come in to work= 92,000on a workday

About 92,000 people are in Bloomington City Township on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.37jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 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 commute map

Where Bloomington City Township goes to work

Le RoyHeyworthUrbana: 508 residents work here (1%)Morton: 164 residents work here (<1%)PekinChampaign: 409 residents work here (1%)Normal: 7,479 residents work here (21%)Decatur: 278 residents work here (1%)Naperville: 182 residents work here (1%)Bloomington: 16,539 residents work here (46%)Chicago: 1,047 residents work here (3%)Peoria: 1,088 residents work here (3%)Springfield: 436 residents work here (1%)Towanda TownshipBloomington TownshipBloomington City TownshipNormal TownshipDry Grove TownshipDale TownshipOld Town TownshipTwin GroveBloomingtonNormalPeoriaChicagoUrbanaSpringfieldBloomington City Township
1
Bloomington0 mi away
46%16,539
2
Normal3.3 mi away
21%7,479
3
Peoria38.9 mi away
3%1,088
4
Chicago115.4 mi away
3%1,047
5
Urbana47.9 mi away
1%508
6
Springfield59.2 mi away
1%436
7
Champaign44.4 mi away
1%409
8
Decatur42.9 mi away
1%278
9
Naperville97.5 mi away
1%182
10
Morton27.8 mi away
<1%164
Everywhere elseother towns and states
22%7,836
The top trips

Where Bloomington City Township clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Bloomington City Township is a services town

49,433 jobs are based in Bloomington City Township.

Jobs based in Bloomington City TownshipJobs Bloomington City Township residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms6%13%
Trade, transport & utilities11%13%
Services: health, schools, offices83%74%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less13%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month20%22%
Over $3,333 a month67%65%

Who does it

29 or younger23%23%
30 to 5454%55%
55 and older23%22%
−9%

Jobs based in Bloomington City Township, 2013 → 2023: 54,132 → 49,433. 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 Bloomington City Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

How many miles Bloomington City Township commutes

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miNormal: 21% · 3.3 miPeoria: 3% · 38.9 miChicago: 3% · 115.4 miUrbana: 1% · 47.9 miSpringfield: 1% · 59.2 miChampaign: 1% · 44.4 miDecatur: 1% · 42.9 miNaperville: 1% · 97.5 miMorton: <1% · 27.8 miNormal 21%Peoria 3%Chicago 3%Urbana 1%Springfield 1%Bloomington City Township
Bloomington City TownshipTop destinations (size = commuters)
68%Under 10 mi24,587 residents
2%10–24 mi772 residents
11%25–50 mi3,809 residents
19%Over 50 mi6,761 residents

About 19% 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.

Getting around · Walkability grade

Bloomington City Township is easy on foot, hard by bus

On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bloomington City Township is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #162 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.

EPA walkability index 12.0 of 20 · typical IL town 7.2 · U.S. 6.9Higher than 90% of U.S. towns
Walk, bike or transit 4.4% of commuters · IL 10.8% · U.S. 7.1%Higher than 72% of U.S. towns
Illinois towns we grade 768 towns#162 of 768
AA

A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 40,354 workers.

How TownRatings grades walkability →

Transit service (shown, not graded). 69% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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

Chicago36.9
Bloomington City Township5.0

Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.2% of Bloomington City Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Bloomington City Township’s commuters take a bus or train.

Towns its size

Out of 573 U.S. towns of 55,000 to 106,000, Bloomington City Township comes 285th on jobs and income

#TownPeopleHousehold incomePovertyUnemploymentWork in townGrade
1Lakeville MN79,270$139K2.9%2.0%11%A+
2Fulshear TX64,630$187K1.6%2.8%2%A+
3Plymouth MN78,942$137K4.3%2.3%12%A+
…
8New Trier Township IL56,118$216K2.9%4.0%10%A+
…
14Vernon Township IL71,353$146K6.3%2.4%15%A+
…
20Wheatland Township IL92,693$173K3.2%4.0%6%A+
…
283San Rafael CA59,410$119K11.7%5.4%19%B+
284Bloomington IL78,804$77K11.0%2.7%46%B+
285Bloomington City Township IL78,804$77K11.0%2.7%46%B+
286Leyden Township IL90,402$80K8.2%5.7%13%B+
287Fountainebleau FL55,665$65K12.7%2.5%4%B+
…
573Albany GA66,907$47K27.5%11.2%51%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 Bloomington City Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.

Next door

67% of Bloomington City Township works in a bordering town

Jobs & commute next door

TownBloomington City Township workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Bloomington City Township–B+A17 min$77,384
Bloomington46%B+A17 min$77,384
Bloomington Townshipunder 1%AC−17 min$111,563
Old Town Townshipunder 1%A−C−26 min$148,516
Normal Townshipunder 1%——16 min—
Normal21%B+A+17 min$64,785
Dale Townshipunder 1%AD−24 min$132,803
Towanda Townshipunder 1%AC−18 min$118,875
Dry Grove Townshipunder 1%AC28 min$117,813
Twin Groveunder 1%AD23 min$116,250

Same-state neighbors only. Normal Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

The biggest share goes to Bloomington. Darker towns draw more of Bloomington City Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Bloomington City Township: questions

What is the median household income in Bloomington City Township?

$77,384 (±$4,104) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Bloomington City Township?

11.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Bloomington City Township?

17 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Bloomington City Township work?

46% work in town.

Is Bloomington City Township walkable?

Bloomington City Township is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.

Can you get around Bloomington City Township without a car?

1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Bloomington City Township, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Bloomington City Township

Bloomington City Township home →

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.