Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0For about half of its working residents, Cooper Township is a commute to Springfield
Cooper Township has 73 jobs for 396 working residents. Hardly any stay in Cooper Township for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (49%, 11 miles). Commuters spend 33 minutes getting to work on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Cooper Township stands out on work
Nearly half of Cooper Township works in Springfield
194 working residents, 49%, have their main job in Springfield, 11 miles away. That’s far more as work in Cooper Township itself. The commute map ↓
Cooper Township is a place people come home to
There are 73 jobs based in Cooper Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Cooper Township has about 550 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Cooper 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; with 396 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Cooper Township to work: where people go
Where Cooper Township clocks in
49% 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.
Who leaves Cooper Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 395 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 72 people come in from elsewhere.
About 550 people are in Cooper Township on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.18 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 daily trip from Cooper Township: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cooper Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 402 commuters (the 13% 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.
Goods jobs make up 29% of work in Cooper Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cooper Township, 2013 → 2023: 30 → 73. 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 Cooper Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Cooper Township, by distance
About 16% 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.
How Cooper Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Rochester Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cooper Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Township | – | — | — | 33 min | $136,354 |
| Mount Auburn Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Lanesville Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Buckhart Township | under 2% | B | C− | 21 min | $97,746 |
| Rochester Township | 2% | A | C− | 22 min | $114,551 |
| Mechanicsburg Township | under 2% | B− | D | 25 min | $74,453 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mount Auburn Township and Lanesville Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cooper 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 Cooper Township: questions
What is the median household income in Cooper Township?
$136,354 (±$33,650) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cooper Township?
0.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cooper Township?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cooper Township work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (49%, 11 mi), Decatur (5%, 28 mi), Rochester (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cooper Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cooper Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cooper 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.