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20120324 115 Danforth, IllinoisPhoto: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0
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Jobs & commute in Danforth

Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Danforth

Home is the office for 4% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. Only 4% work in Danforth; the top destination outside it is Kankakee (10%, 20 miles). The average commute takes 33 minutes each way, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out

Getting to work from Danforth, in brief

★ What stands out · Time on the road

The daily trip from Danforth: about 33 minutes

A year of commuting
249 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Danforth33 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

of Danforth workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Danforth gets to work
84%Drive alone
8%Carpool
2%Walk
6%Other

Share of the 214 commuters (the 4% 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.

Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of Danforth

On a workday 229 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 172 people come in from elsewhere.

229live here, work elsewhere
9live and work here
172work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night570
Workday510
570live here− 230head out to work+ 170come in to work= 510on a workday

About 510 people are in Danforth on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.76jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

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 commute map

Where people from Danforth work

DanforthCrescent City: 6 residents work here (3%)Cissna ParkAshkumOnarga: 6 residents work here (3%)Watseka: 20 residents work here (8%)Gilman: 14 residents work here (6%)Bradley: 15 residents work here (6%)Bourbonnais: 11 residents work here (5%)Kankakee: 23 residents work here (10%)Bloomington: 6 residents work here (3%)Iroquois TownshipAshkum Township: 7 residents work here (3%)Chebanse TownshipKankakeeWatsekaBradleyGilmanBourbonnaisAshkum TownshipDanforth
1
Kankakee20.2 mi away
10%23
2
Watseka13.3 mi away
8%20
3
Bradley24.6 mi away
6%15
4
Gilman4.5 mi away
6%14
5
Bourbonnais25.4 mi away
5%11
6
Danforth (in town)right here
4%9
7
Ashkum Township4.8 mi away
3%7
8
Crescent City7.2 mi away
3%6
9
Onarga7.6 mi away
3%6
10
Bloomington57.2 mi away
3%6
Everywhere elseother towns and states
51%121
The top trips

Where Danforth clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Danforth

181 jobs are based in Danforth.

Jobs based in DanforthJobs Danforth residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms1%24%
Trade, transport & utilities13%21%
Services: health, schools, offices86%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less23%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month36%29%
Over $3,333 a month41%57%

Who does it

29 or younger31%23%
30 to 5441%47%
55 and older28%30%
−24%

Jobs based in Danforth, 2013 → 2023: 237 → 181. 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 Danforth’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

How far it is to work from Danforth

10 mi25 mi50 mi65 miKankakee: 10% · 20.2 miWatseka: 8% · 13.3 miBradley: 6% · 24.6 miGilman: 6% · 4.5 miBourbonnais: 5% · 25.4 miAshkum Township: 3% · 4.8 miCrescent City: 3% · 7.2 miOnarga: 3% · 7.6 miBloomington: 3% · 57.2 miKankakee 10%Watseka 8%Bradley 6%Gilman 6%Bourbonnais 5%Danforth
DanforthTop destinations (size = commuters)
23%Under 10 mi55 residents
39%10–24 mi92 residents
12%25–50 mi28 residents
26%Over 50 mi63 residents

About 26% 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 to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Danforth: questions

What is the median household income in Danforth?

$54,625 (±$12,391) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Danforth?

26.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Danforth?

33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Danforth work?

4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kankakee (10%, 20 mi), Watseka (8%, 13 mi), Bradley (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Danforth without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Danforth, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Danforth

Danforth home →

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.