About half of Douglas Township’s working residents commute to Effingham
The two grades for Douglas Township are B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About two in five work in Douglas Township; the top destination outside it is Effingham (47%, 3 miles). Commuters spend 14 minutes getting to work on average, next to 28 for Illinois and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Douglas Township and work: the main findings
Commutes from Douglas Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 107 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Douglas Township is where the jobs are
Douglas Township has 14,073 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 21,000 people are in town, 68% more than the 13,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Douglas Township works in Effingham
2,562 working residents, 47%, have their main job in Effingham, 3.4 miles away across the town line. That’s more than work in Douglas Township itself. The commute map ↓
Douglas Township draws workers from far and wide
The 14,073 jobs in Douglas Township are filled from a wide area. Douglas Township’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 19%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Douglas Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Douglas Township is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #458 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Douglas Township’s grade up (2.1%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Douglas Township could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
About 14 minutes each way for Douglas Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Douglas Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,553 commuters (the 14% 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.
Douglas Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,101 residents head out to work, 2,293 work right here, and 11,780 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Douglas Township on a workday afternoon, 68% more than live here.
2.6 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 2023, primary jobs.
The daily trip into Douglas Township
Where Douglas Township clocks in
47% 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.
The kinds of work in Douglas Township
14,073 jobs are based in Douglas Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Douglas Township, 2013 → 2023: 13,171 → 14,073. 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 Douglas Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Douglas Township, by distance
About 30% 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.
Few in Douglas Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Douglas Township is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #366 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% 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 6,490 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). 8.1% of Douglas Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Douglas Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Douglas Township places 1,310th of 2,354 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,308 | Scottdale GA | 10,542 | $86K | 14.4% | 5.9% | 1% | B |
| 1,309 | Windsor Locks CT | 12,617 | $81K | 10.9% | 5.8% | 12% | B |
| 1,310 | Douglas Township IL | 12,693 | $75K | 13.1% | 2.1% | 43% | B |
| 1,311 | Tolleson AZ | 9,224 | $60K | 18.0% | 2.4% | 10% | B |
| 1,312 | Auburn CA | 13,847 | $83K | 13.0% | 4.0% | 13% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Douglas Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 48% of Douglas Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Douglas Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Township | – | B | B+ | 14 min | $74,666 |
| Teutopolis Township | under 1% | A− | B | 16 min | $106,786 |
| Sigel Township | under 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Summit Township | under 1% | A | C | 22 min | $111,488 |
| Effingham | 47% | B− | B+ | 13 min | $72,377 |
| Banner Township | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Watson Township | 1% | B− | D | 18 min | $77,209 |
| Spring Point Township | under 1% | B+ | C | 36 min | $90,430 |
Same-state neighbors only. Sigel Township and Banner Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Effingham. Darker towns draw more of Douglas 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 Douglas Township: questions
What is the median household income in Douglas Township?
$74,666 (±$8,368) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Douglas Township?
13.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Douglas Township?
14 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Douglas Township work?
43% work in town.
Is Douglas Township walkable?
Douglas Township is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Douglas Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Douglas Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Douglas 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.