Photo: SkibumPMC · Public domainChannel Lake has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
60 jobs are based in Channel Lake for 669 working residents. Jobs and income earn Channel Lake C+; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 2% stay in Channel Lake for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (10%, 50 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Channel Lake: the figures worth knowing
Channel Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Channel Lake is Chicago, 51 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (66) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Channel Lake is a place people come home to
There are 60 jobs based in Channel Lake, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Channel Lake has about 1,400 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 669 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Channel Lake: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Channel Lake is better than 36% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Channel Lake’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (23.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (5.3%) is left out: Channel Lake’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Channel Lake could be anywhere from C− to B.
How far Channel Lake goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The daily commute in and out of Channel Lake
On a workday 656 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 47 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Channel Lake on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Channel Lake to work: where people go
Where Channel Lake clocks in
10% of workers
8% 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.
Making and building: 40% of jobs based in Channel Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Channel Lake, 2014 → 2024: 36 → 60. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Channel Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Channel Lake: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Channel Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 711 commuters (the 23% 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 Channel Lake, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Channel Lake is more walkable than 16% 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 4.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 924 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). 2.4% of Channel Lake households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Channel Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Channel Lake is 3,228th of 5,793 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,226 | Oakland Township PA | 2,707 | $74K | 11.6% | 6.0% | 4% | C+ |
| 3,227 | Stonycreek Township PA | 2,081 | $73K | 8.2% | 4.8% | 7% | C+ |
| 3,228 | Channel Lake IL | 2,052 | $68K | 23.1% | 5.3% | 2% | C+ |
| 3,229 | Groton NY | 2,077 | $60K | 8.2% | 1.7% | 9% | C+ |
| 3,230 | Rockbridge Township IL | 1,476 | $77K | 8.8% | 3.5% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Channel Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Channel Lake
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Channel Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Lake | – | C+ | C− | 27 min | $68,250 |
| Lake Catherine | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lake Catherine: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Channel Lake’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 2024, 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 Channel Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Channel Lake?
$68,250 (±$25,914) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Channel Lake?
23.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Channel Lake?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Channel Lake work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (10%, 50 mi), Antioch (8%, 4 mi), Waukegan (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Channel Lake walkable?
Channel Lake is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Channel Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Channel Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Channel Lake
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.