Unemployment in Decatur Township (9.9%) is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
8% of workers work from home (Illinois 16%). For jobs and income Decatur Township is better than 13% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (A−). Measured by household income, Decatur Township is behind 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Decatur Township apart on work
Decatur Township and Decatur trade workers both ways
Decatur is the top workplace for Decatur Township residents (52%) and also where the most people who work in Decatur Township come from (41% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Decatur Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Decatur Township is where the jobs are
Decatur Township has 27,526 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Decatur Township makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Decatur Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Decatur Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Decatur Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
71% of the jobs based in Decatur Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 55% of the jobs Decatur Township residents hold. 73% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Decatur Township. The jobs ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Decatur Township
Job access by car holds Decatur Township’s grade up (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Decatur Township could be anywhere from D to C−.
Commuting in to Decatur Township: where workers come from
Where Decatur Township clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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.
The trip to work from Decatur Township: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Decatur Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,186 commuters (the 8% 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.
A workday in Decatur Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 9,873 residents head out to work, 7,363 work right here, and 20,163 people come in from elsewhere.
About 55,000 people are in Decatur Township on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
40% of the jobs in Decatur Township make or build things
27,526 jobs are based in Decatur Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Decatur Township, 2014 → 2024: 27,714 → 27,526. 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 Decatur Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Decatur 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Decatur Township is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 18,624 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 13.0% of Decatur Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Decatur Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Decatur Township sits among U.S. towns of 32,000 to 61,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 8% | A+ |
| 4 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 925 | Port Arthur TX | 55,804 | $46K | 29.0% | 8.4% | 25% | D |
| 926 | Los Banos CA | 49,614 | $68K | 17.4% | 8.9% | 22% | D |
| 927 | Decatur Township IL | 45,203 | $49K | 24.2% | 9.9% | 43% | D |
| 928 | Fort Pierce FL | 51,737 | $47K | 26.2% | 9.2% | 22% | D |
| 929 | Goldsboro NC | 35,012 | $49K | 22.8% | 8.0% | 30% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Decatur Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 52% of Decatur Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Decatur Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur Township | – | D | A− | 17 min | $48,870 |
| Long Creek Township | under 1% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $85,279 |
| Hickory Point Township | under 1% | C+ | B | 17 min | $58,673 |
| South Wheatland Township | under 1% | A− | D | 21 min | $94,427 |
| Oakley Township | under 1% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Decatur | 52% | C− | B+ | 18 min | $51,592 |
| Whitmore Township | under 1% | C | C− | 20 min | $76,607 |
| Harristown Township | under 1% | B− | D | 21 min | $76,518 |
Same-state neighbors only. Oakley Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Decatur. Darker towns draw more of Decatur 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 Decatur Township: questions
What is the median household income in Decatur Township?
$48,870 (±$2,541) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Decatur Township?
24.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Decatur Township?
17 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Decatur Township work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Decatur (52%, 2 mi), Springfield (5%, 37 mi), Chicago (3%, 153 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Decatur Township walkable?
Decatur Township is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Decatur Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Decatur Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Decatur 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. 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.