Henry N. Frentess Farmstead · Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in East Dubuque trail those of 61% of U.S. towns
The two grades for East Dubuque are C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Poverty touches 12.2% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. About one in ten work in East Dubuque itself; outside it, Dubuque draws the most (32%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where East Dubuque stands out on work
Many East Dubuque workers cross into Iowa
62% of East Dubuque workers work outside Illinois, most of them in Iowa, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
East Dubuque and Dubuque trade workers both ways
Dubuque is the top workplace for East Dubuque residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in East Dubuque come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from East Dubuque are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 92 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 617 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
East Dubuque’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, East Dubuque is better than 42% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds East Dubuque’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (2.2%) is left out: East Dubuque’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, East Dubuque could be anywhere from C to B.
Where the trip to work from East Dubuque ends
Where East Dubuque clocks in
32% of workers
7% 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.
Commuting from East Dubuque: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of East Dubuque workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 694 commuters (the 11% 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.
Who leaves East Dubuque for work, and who comes in
On a workday 555 residents head out to work, 62 work right here, and 637 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 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.
Inside East Dubuque’s 699 jobs
699 jobs are based in East Dubuque.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in East Dubuque, 2013 → 2023: 626 → 699. 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 East Dubuque’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from East Dubuque to work
About 34% 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.
Getting around East Dubuque: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, East Dubuque is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place East Dubuque near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 782 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). 9.9% of East Dubuque households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of East Dubuque’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, East Dubuque is 2,731st of 6,308 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,729 | Level Plains AL | 1,838 | $77K | 12.1% | 4.3% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,730 | Hudson CO | 1,621 | $81K | 18.4% | 4.1% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,731 | East Dubuque IL | 1,457 | $68K | 12.2% | 2.2% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,732 | Haven KS | 1,169 | $59K | 9.1% | 4.5% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,733 | Gilmore Township MI | 1,352 | $81K | 7.5% | 3.1% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,308 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 East Dubuque, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around East Dubuque
The biggest share goes to Dunleith Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | East Dubuque workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Dubuque | – | C+ | B− | 16 min | $67,891 |
| Dunleith Township | 5% | B− | C | 20 min | $69,505 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of East Dubuque’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 East Dubuque: questions
What is the median household income in East Dubuque?
$67,891 (±$6,266) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in East Dubuque?
12.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from East Dubuque?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in East Dubuque work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dubuque (32%, 4 mi), Galena (7%, 11 mi), Dunleith Township (5%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is East Dubuque walkable?
East Dubuque is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around East Dubuque without a car?
0% 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 East Dubuque, from the people who make the trip.
More of East Dubuque
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.