Brookside Township’s household incomes are lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Brookside Township grades D− for jobs and income and B for walkability. The poverty rate is 25.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, where Illinois as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Brookside Township, in a few figures
Commutes from Brookside 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 ↓
Brookside Township is where the jobs are
Brookside Township has 2,315 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Brookside Township and Centralia trade workers both ways
Centralia is the top workplace for Brookside Township residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Brookside Township come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Brookside Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brookside Township is better than 4% of U.S. towns, #767 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Brookside Township’s grade up (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (10.2%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brookside Township could be anywhere from D− to D.
Brookside Township’s commute takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brookside Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,050 commuters (the 5% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Brookside Township
On a workday 1,192 residents head out to work, 72 work right here, and 2,243 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Brookside Township on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Brookside Township
Where Brookside Township clocks in
18% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
How far Brookside Township’s workers travel
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.
Inside Brookside Township’s 2,315 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brookside Township, 2013 → 2023: 2,540 → 2,315. 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 Brookside Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Brookside Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brookside Township is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #482 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Brookside 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 1,102 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). 10.2% of Brookside Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Brookside Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100, and where Brookside Township sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,730 | Barnesville OH | 3,861 | $42K | 26.2% | 7.0% | 23% | D− |
| 3,731 | Center TX | 5,246 | $48K | 26.1% | 10.3% | 49% | D− |
| 3,732 | Brookside Township IL | 4,522 | $45K | 25.3% | 10.2% | 6% | D− |
| 3,733 | Whitehall NY | 3,999 | $54K | 20.7% | 9.2% | 16% | D− |
| 3,734 | Carthage MS | 4,864 | $42K | 29.7% | 7.8% | 19% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Brookside Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 23% of Brookside Township
The biggest share goes to Centralia (18%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brookside Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside Township | – | D− | B | 17 min | $44,875 |
| Centralia Township | 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Irvington Township | under 3% | B− | D | 27 min | $72,115 |
| Wamac | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Lake Township | 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Meridian Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Centralia | 18% | D | B+ | 19 min | $47,807 |
| Sandoval Township | under 3% | D | C− | 22 min | $55,103 |
Same-state neighbors only. Centralia Township: not graded. Wamac, Lake Township and Meridian Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brookside 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 Brookside Township: questions
What is the median household income in Brookside Township?
$44,875 (±$5,505) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brookside Township?
25.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brookside Township?
17 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brookside Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Centralia (18%, 5 mi), Carlyle (4%, 10 mi), Chicago (4%, 242 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brookside Township walkable?
Brookside Township is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brookside Township without a car?
1% 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 Brookside Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brookside 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.