Hopkins Township has higher unemployment (6.4%) than 78% of U.S. towns
For 1% of workers, the job is at home; Illinois has 16%. Jobs and income earn Hopkins Township B−; getting around on foot earns it C. Only 3% stay in Hopkins Township for work; outside it, Sterling is the main destination (31%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Hopkins Township: the gist
Stores, warehouses and trucking
88% of the jobs in Hopkins Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
A lot of Hopkins Township works one town over
39% of working residents work in a town that borders Hopkins Township: Sterling (31%) and Sterling Township (8%). Next door ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Hopkins Township’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 36 minutes, longer than the Illinois average of 28. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 809 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Hopkins Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hopkins Township is better than 50% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Hopkins Township’s grade up ($97,075, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hopkins Township could be anywhere from C to A.
Inside Hopkins Township’s 1,040 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hopkins Township, 2014 → 2024: 853 → 1,040. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Hopkins Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Hopkins Township’s commute takes about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hopkins Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 989 commuters (the 1% 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.
Who leaves Hopkins Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 782 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 1,013 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Hopkins Township on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Hopkins Township: the destinations
Where Hopkins Township clocks in
31% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Hopkins 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Hopkins Township, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hopkins Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 3.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 998 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). 0.0% of Hopkins Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hopkins Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700, Hopkins Township comes 2,241st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,239 | Amboy WA | 1,692 | $112K | 8.7% | 4.8% | 2% | B− |
| 2,240 | Wellman IA | 1,539 | $58K | 3.6% | 0.6% | 6% | B− |
| 2,241 | Hopkins Township IL | 1,966 | $97K | 6.8% | 6.4% | 3% | B− |
| 2,242 | Elmira Township MI | 1,775 | $82K | 6.2% | 6.8% | <1% | B− |
| 2,243 | Ridgefield Township OH | 2,171 | $70K | 4.6% | 5.9% | 9% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Hopkins Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 39% of Hopkins Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hopkins Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopkins Township | – | B− | C | 36 min | $97,075 |
| Hume Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Coloma Township | under 2% | D | A− | 17 min | $52,152 |
| Sterling Township | 8% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Mount Pleasant Township | under 2% | B | B | 20 min | $74,185 |
| Genesee Township | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Lyndon Township | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Sterling | 31% | C | A− | 18 min | $57,350 |
| Jordan Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hume Township, Genesee Township, Lyndon Township and Jordan Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Sterling Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sterling. Darker towns draw more of Hopkins 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 2024, 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 Hopkins Township: questions
What is the median household income in Hopkins Township?
$97,075 (±$12,376) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hopkins Township?
6.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hopkins Township?
36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hopkins Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sterling (31%, 6 mi), Sterling Township (8%, 6 mi), Dixon (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Hopkins Township walkable?
Hopkins Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 3.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hopkins Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hopkins Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hopkins Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.