With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Garrett Township works elsewhere
0% of workers have no commute at all (Illinois 16%). There are 199 jobs in Garrett Township, and 523 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Garrett Township are B− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Garrett Township, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Garrett Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Garrett Township fell from 767 in 2013 to 199 in 2023, −74%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Few Garrett Township workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Garrett Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 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 523 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Garrett Township: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Garrett Township is better than 50% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Garrett Township’s grade up (5.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (0.6%) is left out: Garrett Township’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, Garrett Township could be anywhere from C to B+.
A place that makes things: 39% of Garrett Township’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Garrett Township, 2013 → 2023: 767 → 199. 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 Garrett Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 20 minutes in Garrett Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Garrett Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 523 commuters (the 0% 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.
Garrett Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 503 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 179 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Garrett Township on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer 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.
23% of working residents work in Arthur
Where Garrett Township clocks in
23% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Garrett Township
About 20% 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 Garrett Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Garrett Township is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 11.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 3.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 523 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). 8.2% of Garrett Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Garrett Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Garrett Township is 1,864th among 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,862 | Marcus IA | 1,038 | $78K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 12% | B− |
| 1,863 | Unity Township IL | 1,395 | $81K | 6.7% | 10.7% | 2% | B− |
| 1,864 | Garrett Township IL | 1,328 | $70K | 5.0% | 0.6% | 4% | B− |
| 1,865 | Madison Township IN | 1,104 | $89K | 7.5% | 0.0% | 1% | B− |
| 1,866 | Lower Augusta Township PA | 1,030 | $75K | 5.9% | 3.2% | <1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | 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 Garrett Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 21% of Garrett Township
The biggest share goes to Bourbon Township (19%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Garrett Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett Township | – | B− | B− | 20 min | $69,643 |
| Tuscola Township | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Bourbon Township | 19% | B− | B+ | 16 min | $76,630 |
| Unity Township | under 2% | B− | C | 33 min | $80,536 |
| Sadorus Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Lowe Township | 2% | C+ | B | 19 min | $85,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Tuscola Township: not graded. Sadorus Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Garrett 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 Garrett Township: questions
What is the median household income in Garrett Township?
$69,643 (±$11,921) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Garrett Township?
5.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Garrett Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Garrett Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Arthur (23%, 8 mi), Bourbon Township (19%, 9 mi), Tuscola (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Garrett Township walkable?
Garrett Township is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 3.8 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Garrett Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Garrett Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Garrett 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.