Photo: Stevedrone91 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Freeport trail those of 86% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Freeport are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 19.6% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. About one in three stay in Freeport for work; outside it, Rockford is the main destination (7%, 29 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Freeport at work: what stands out
Commutes from Freeport 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Why Freeport gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Freeport is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #669 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Freeport’s grade up (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($51,723, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Freeport could be anywhere from D to C+.
Each way, about 16 minutes from Freeport
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Freeport workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,405 commuters (the 10% 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.
The distance from Freeport to work
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.
Who commutes out of Freeport, and who commutes in
On a workday 6,135 residents head out to work, 3,439 work right here, and 6,684 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 (1.06 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.
Where Freeport goes to work
Where Freeport clocks in
7% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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 Freeport
10,123 jobs are based in Freeport.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Freeport, 2013 → 2023: 10,844 → 10,123. 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 Freeport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Freeport, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Freeport is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #327 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Freeport 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 10,466 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). 10.9% of Freeport households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Freeport’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Freeport is 1,499th of 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,497 | Calumet Township IL | 17,950 | $50K | 18.3% | 16.8% | 2% | C− |
| 1,498 | New London CT | 28,003 | $59K | 21.6% | 6.5% | 18% | C− |
| 1,499 | Freeport IL | 23,202 | $52K | 19.6% | 4.5% | 36% | C− |
| 1,500 | Ada OK | 16,660 | $54K | 16.1% | 4.3% | 44% | C− |
| 1,501 | Covington GA | 17,477 | $59K | 20.4% | 7.3% | 16% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | 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 Freeport, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Freeport
The biggest share goes to Lancaster Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Freeport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport | – | C− | B+ | 16 min | $51,723 |
| Freeport Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Lancaster Township | 2% | B+ | D− | 18 min | $91,250 |
| Florence Township | 2% | B− | C | 17 min | $90,698 |
| Harlem Township | under 2% | A− | D | 31 min | $95,000 |
| Silver Creek Township | 1% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Freeport Township: not graded. Silver Creek Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Freeport’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 Freeport: questions
What is the median household income in Freeport?
$51,723 (±$3,591) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Freeport?
19.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Freeport?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Freeport work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (7%, 29 mi), Chicago (5%, 105 mi), Monroe (2%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Freeport walkable?
Freeport is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Freeport without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Freeport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Freeport
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.