Work means Springfield for more than half of Gardner Township’s working residents
Measured by household income, Gardner Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. Gardner Township grades A− for jobs and income and D for walkability. 1.1% of residents live below the poverty line; Illinois has 11.8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Gardner Township in brief
More than half of Gardner Township works in Springfield
1,269 working residents, 60%, have their main job in Springfield, 7.6 miles away across the town line. That’s 15 times as many as work in Gardner Township itself. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Gardner Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Gardner Township is a place people come home to
There are 490 jobs based in Gardner Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Gardner Township has about 2,900 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most Gardner Township residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Gardner Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gardner Township is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #202 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gardner Township could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The places Gardner Township commutes to
Where Gardner Township clocks in
60% of workers
2% 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.
Getting to work from Gardner Township takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gardner Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,011 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.
In and out of Gardner Township on a workday
On a workday 2,030 residents head out to work, 84 work right here, and 406 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Gardner Township on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.23 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Gardner Township
About 21% 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.
What work there is in Gardner Township: 490 jobs
490 jobs are based in Gardner Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gardner Township, 2013 → 2023: 572 → 490. 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 Gardner Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Gardner Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gardner Township is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #747 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Gardner Township 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 2,261 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 3% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.4% of Gardner Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Gardner Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Gardner Township next to U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100: 645th of 3,862 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 643 | Mogadore OH | 3,816 | $83K | 8.6% | 1.1% | 4% | A− |
| 644 | Medina TN | 5,813 | $108K | 2.6% | 3.3% | 3% | A− |
| 645 | Gardner Township IL | 4,551 | $104K | 1.1% | 3.8% | 4% | A− |
| 646 | Watab Township MN | 3,478 | $99K | 6.6% | 1.8% | 2% | A− |
| 647 | Cambria NY | 5,727 | $112K | 5.0% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Gardner Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 60% of Gardner Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gardner Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner Township | – | A− | D | 19 min | $103,932 |
| Capital Township | under 1% | C | A | 17 min | $65,902 |
| Springfield | 60% | C | A | 17 min | $66,064 |
| Fancy Creek Township | under 1% | A | B− | 21 min | $145,385 |
| Springfield Township | under 1% | D | B+ | 15 min | $39,507 |
| Cartwright Township | under 1% | A− | B− | 25 min | $100,982 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of Gardner 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 Gardner Township: questions
What is the median household income in Gardner Township?
$103,932 (±$21,575) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gardner Township?
1.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gardner Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gardner Township work?
4% work in town.
Is Gardner Township walkable?
Gardner Township is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gardner Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gardner Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gardner 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.