At 16.8%, unemployment in Calumet Township is among the highest of any U.S. town
Measured by household income, Calumet Township is behind 88% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Calumet Township C−; getting around on foot earns it A+. Only 2% work in Calumet Township itself; outside it, Chicago draws the most (37%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Calumet Township
A lot of Calumet Township works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Calumet Township: Chicago (37%) and Blue Island (4%). Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Calumet Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Calumet Township fell from 4,206 in 2013 to 2,206 in 2023, −48%. 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 ↓
Calumet Township is a place people come home to
There are 2,206 jobs based in Calumet Township, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Calumet Township has about 13,000 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Calumet Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Calumet Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Calumet Township is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #667 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Calumet Township’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Calumet Township could be anywhere from C− to C+.
What the 2,206 jobs in Calumet Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Calumet Township, 2013 → 2023: 4,206 → 2,206. 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 Calumet Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Calumet Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 7,429 residents head out to work, 152 work right here, and 2,054 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Calumet Township on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.29 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.
How long Calumet Township spends getting to work: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Calumet Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,042 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where the trip to work from Calumet Township ends
Where Calumet Township clocks in
37% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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 Calumet Township
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.
Calumet Township is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,695 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 81% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 13.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 19.6% of Calumet Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 12% of Calumet Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Calumet Township places 1,555th of 1,822 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,553 | Lenoir NC | 18,372 | $50K | 14.6% | 4.6% | 25% | C− |
| 1,554 | Ellensburg WA | 21,308 | $55K | 22.4% | 8.9% | 41% | C− |
| 1,555 | Calumet Township IL | 17,950 | $50K | 18.3% | 16.8% | 2% | C− |
| 1,556 | Sierra Vista Southeast AZ | 14,330 | $75K | 8.0% | 8.3% | 6% | C− |
| 1,557 | Owosso MI | 14,437 | $54K | 17.2% | 5.5% | 19% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Calumet Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
41% of Calumet Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Calumet Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calumet Township | – | C− | A+ | 33 min | $49,861 |
| Chicago | 37% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Riverdale | under 2% | C− | A+ | 34 min | $39,833 |
| Calumet Park | under 2% | C | A+ | 39 min | $53,556 |
| Worth Township | under 2% | B | A | 30 min | $77,966 |
| Thornton Township | under 2% | C | A+ | 32 min | $58,534 |
| Blue Island | 4% | C | A+ | 29 min | $59,489 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Chicago. Darker towns draw more of Calumet 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 Calumet Township: questions
What is the median household income in Calumet Township?
$49,861 (±$8,803) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Calumet Township?
18.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Calumet Township?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Calumet Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (37%, 12 mi), Blue Island (4%, 1 mi), Alsip (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Calumet Township walkable?
Calumet Township is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Calumet Township without a car?
12% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. 81% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Calumet Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Calumet 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.