Camp Butler National Cemetery · Photo: Robert Lawton · CC BY-SA 2.5More than half of Clear Lake Township’s working residents commute to Springfield
The average commute takes 24 minutes each way; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Clear Lake Township A−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Household incomes here are higher than in 64% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Clear Lake Township: the gist
More than half of Clear Lake Township works in Springfield
1,804 working residents, 51%, have their main job in Springfield, 6.4 miles away across the town line. That’s 7 times as many as work in Clear Lake Township itself. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Clear Lake Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Clear Lake Township fell from 4,301 in 2013 to 2,252 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 ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Clear Lake Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clear Lake Township is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #231 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment is its strongest input (1.8%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clear Lake Township could be anywhere from B to A.
Where Clear Lake Township’s working residents head each day
Where Clear Lake Township clocks in
51% 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.
What work there is in Clear Lake Township: 2,252 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clear Lake Township, 2013 → 2023: 4,301 → 2,252. 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 Clear Lake Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Clear Lake Township
On a workday 3,314 residents head out to work, 247 work right here, and 2,005 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,900 people are in Clear Lake Township on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
Getting to work from Clear Lake Township takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clear Lake Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,094 commuters (the 11% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Clear Lake Township
About 24% 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.
Most trips from Clear Lake Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clear Lake Township is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #607 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,593 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 50% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 40% 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). 0.6% of Clear Lake Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Clear Lake Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Clear Lake Township is 751st of 2,956 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,100 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 749 | Roeland Park KS | 6,683 | $89K | 9.2% | 3.0% | 2% | A− |
| 750 | Slinger WI | 6,495 | $101K | 2.9% | 5.5% | 7% | A− |
| 751 | Clear Lake Township IL | 8,248 | $86K | 6.3% | 1.8% | 7% | A− |
| 752 | South Lebanon Township PA | 10,735 | $85K | 7.9% | 1.7% | 13% | A− |
| 753 | Stevensville MD | 8,802 | $115K | 5.3% | 3.9% | 12% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,956 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Clear Lake Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Bordering towns draw 51% of Clear Lake Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clear Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Lake Township | – | A− | C+ | 24 min | $86,473 |
| Capital Township | under 2% | C | A | 17 min | $65,902 |
| Springfield | 51% | C | A | 17 min | $66,064 |
| Williams Township | under 2% | A | C | 22 min | $125,583 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | D | B+ | 15 min | $39,507 |
| Mechanicsburg Township | under 2% | B− | D | 25 min | $74,453 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of Clear Lake 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 Clear Lake Township: questions
What is the median household income in Clear Lake Township?
$86,473 (±$11,177) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clear Lake Township?
6.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clear Lake Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clear Lake Township work?
7% work in town.
Is Clear Lake Township walkable?
Clear Lake Township is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clear Lake Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 40% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clear Lake Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clear Lake 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.