At 9.4%, unemployment in Bruce Township is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Bruce Township are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Home is the office for 6% 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
The work figures that set Bruce Township apart
Bruce Township and Streator trade workers both ways
Streator is the top workplace for Bruce Township residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Bruce Township come from (38% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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.
Inside Bruce Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bruce Township is better than 8% of U.S. towns, #753 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Bruce Township’s grade up (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bruce Township could be anywhere from D− to C−.
24% of working residents work in Streator
Where Bruce Township clocks in
24% of workers
7% 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 it is to work from Bruce Township
About 35% 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 commutes out of Bruce Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,904 residents head out to work, 1,148 work right here, and 2,062 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,800 people are in Bruce Township on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
The 3,210 jobs based in Bruce Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bruce Township, 2013 → 2023: 3,955 → 3,210. 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 Bruce Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes to work from Bruce Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bruce Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,785 commuters (the 6% 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.
Driving is how Bruce Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bruce Township is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #339 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Bruce 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 5,067 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). 6.3% of Bruce Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Bruce Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bruce Township next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,594 | Pulaski TN | 8,394 | $49K | 25.7% | 7.2% | 34% | D |
| 2,595 | Covington TN | 8,585 | $42K | 29.2% | 8.8% | 31% | D |
| 2,596 | Bruce Township IL | 11,675 | $53K | 22.2% | 9.4% | 23% | D |
| 2,597 | Massena NY | 12,058 | $55K | 23.1% | 6.1% | 42% | D |
| 2,598 | Lehman Township PA | 11,366 | $67K | 17.7% | 9.3% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Bruce Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 24% of Bruce Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bruce Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Township | – | D | B+ | 28 min | $53,477 |
| Eagle Township | under 1% | C | D | 18 min | $54,306 |
| Streator | 24% | D | B+ | 28 min | $57,609 |
| Otter Creek Township | under 1% | C− | B− | 25 min | $83,750 |
| Farm Ridge Township | under 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Farm Ridge Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Streator. Darker towns draw more of Bruce 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 Bruce Township: questions
What is the median household income in Bruce Township?
$53,477 (±$9,893) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bruce Township?
22.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bruce Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bruce Township work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Streator (24%, 3 mi), Ottawa (7%, 13 mi), Reading Township (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bruce Township walkable?
Bruce Township is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bruce Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bruce Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bruce 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.