Dakota Township draws 687 commuters a day, with 2.1 jobs for every working resident
707 jobs are based in Dakota Township; 341 of its residents have a job. Only 6% work in Dakota Township itself; outside it, Freeport draws the most (16%, 10 miles). The average commute takes 25 minutes each way; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Dakota Township
Dakota Township makes and builds things
79% of the jobs based in Dakota Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Dakota Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 27%. The jobs ↓
Dakota Township is where the jobs are
Dakota Township has 707 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,200 people are in town, 47% more than the 780 who live here. Day and night ↓
Dakota Township and Freeport trade workers both ways
Freeport is the top workplace for Dakota Township residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Dakota Township come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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 341 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Dakota Township works in goods: 79% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dakota Township, 2014 → 2024: 550 → 707. 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 Dakota Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Dakota Township
On a workday 321 residents head out to work and 20 work right here.
About 1,200 people are in Dakota Township on a workday afternoon, 47% more 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.
Commuting in to Dakota Township: where workers come from
Where Dakota Township clocks in
16% of workers
13% of workers
4% 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.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Dakota Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dakota Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 358 commuters (the 10% 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.
The commute from Dakota Township, by distance
About 28% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Dakota Township and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Rock Run Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dakota Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota Township | – | — | — | 25 min | $68,750 |
| Rock Run Township | 1% | B+ | C | 30 min | $90,083 |
| Rock Grove Township | under 2% | B+ | D− | 37 min | $99,500 |
| Buckeye Township | under 2% | B− | C | 29 min | $76,094 |
| Lancaster Township | under 2% | B+ | D− | 18 min | $91,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dakota 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 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 Dakota Township: questions
What is the median household income in Dakota Township?
$68,750 (±$11,930) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dakota Township?
10.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dakota Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dakota Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (16%, 10 mi), Rockford (13%, 27 mi), Monroe (4%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Dakota Township without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dakota Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dakota Township
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.