Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5Most of German Valley commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
German Valley has 85 jobs, against 171 working residents. Only 3% work in German Valley itself; outside it, Freeport draws the most (25%, 9 miles). 7% of workers have no commute at all; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through German Valley
On a workday 166 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 80 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in German Valley on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
Where German Valley’s working residents head each day
Where German Valley clocks in
25% of workers
14% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in German Valley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in German Valley, 2013 → 2023: 66 → 85. 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 German Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 25 minutes from German Valley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of German Valley workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 224 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.
The commute from German Valley, by distance
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 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 German Valley: questions
What is the median household income in German Valley?
$73,661 (±$9,944) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in German Valley?
6.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from German Valley?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in German Valley work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (25%, 9 mi), Rockford (14%, 22 mi), Ridott (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around German Valley without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from German Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of German Valley
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.