Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0About half of Downs Township’s working residents commute to Bloomington
The average commute takes 21 minutes each way; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26. Only 4% work in Downs Township; the top destination outside it is Bloomington (50%, 10 miles). There are 362 jobs in Downs Township, and 612 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Downs Township and work: the main findings
More than half of Downs Township works in Bloomington
305 working residents, 50%, have their main job in Bloomington, 10 miles away. That’s 13 times as many as work in Downs Township itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Downs Township
71% of Downs Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Downs Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Downs Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois 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 612 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Downs Township’s working residents head each day
Where Downs Township clocks in
50% of workers
11% 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 Downs Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Downs Township, 2013 → 2023: 185 → 362. 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 Downs Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Downs Township: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Downs Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 499 commuters (the 16% 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.
Downs Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 589 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 339 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Downs Township on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Miles to work from Downs Township
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 Downs Township compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Downs Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downs Township | – | — | — | 21 min | $92,083 |
| Randolph Township | under 1% | B+ | C− | 22 min | $110,439 |
| Wilson Township | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
| Old Town Township | 1% | A− | C− | 26 min | $148,516 |
| Empire Township | under 1% | A− | C | 23 min | $87,896 |
| Downs | 4% | B+ | C− | 20 min | $110,625 |
| Bloomington Township | under 1% | A | C− | 17 min | $111,563 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wilson Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Downs. Darker towns draw more of Downs 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 Downs Township: questions
What is the median household income in Downs Township?
$92,083 (±$28,874) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Downs Township?
7.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Downs Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Downs Township work?
4% work in town.
Can you get around Downs Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Downs Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Downs 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.