Eastern Township draws 430 commuters a day, with 2.0 jobs for every working resident
439 jobs are based in Eastern Township, against 221 working residents. Only 4% stay in Eastern Township for work; outside it, Marion is the main destination (12%, 20 miles). Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Eastern Township stands out on work
Eastern Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 50 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 383 hours of commuting, 169 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (24 to 44 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Eastern Township is the work center of its corner
Every town that borders Eastern Township (Flannigan Township, Cave Township, Northern Township and Benton Township) has fewer jobs than working residents, while Eastern Township has 2.0 per resident. Next door ↓
Eastern Township makes and builds things
69% of the jobs based in Eastern Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Eastern Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
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 221 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting from Eastern Township: about 50 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 15.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eastern Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 202 commuters (the 7% 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.
Making and building: 69% of jobs based in Eastern Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eastern Township, 2013 → 2023: 25 → 439. 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 Eastern Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Eastern Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 212 residents head out to work and 9 work right here.
About 790 people are in Eastern Township on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Eastern Township, and from where
Where Eastern Township clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
9% 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.
Where in the region Eastern Township works
About 19% 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 Eastern Township compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eastern Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Township | – | — | — | 50 min | $60,781 |
| Flannigan Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Cave Township | under 2% | C | D | 44 min | $62,526 |
| Northern Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Benton Township | under 2% | C− | B | 24 min | $55,610 |
Same-state neighbors only. Flannigan Township and Northern Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Eastern 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 Eastern Township: questions
What is the median household income in Eastern Township?
$60,781 (±$20,756) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eastern Township?
18.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eastern Township?
50 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eastern Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marion (12%, 20 mi), Benton (11%, 9 mi), Mount Vernon (9%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Eastern Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eastern Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eastern 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.