Most of Independence Township commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
For jobs and income Independence Township is better than 60% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (B−). 142 jobs are based in Independence Township, against 470 working residents. 5% of workers have no commute at all, where Illinois as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Independence Township stands out on work
Independence Township and Harrisburg trade workers both ways
Harrisburg is the top workplace for Independence Township residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Independence Township come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Independence Township is a place people come home to
There are 142 jobs based in Independence Township, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Independence Township has about 810 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Independence Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 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 470 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Independence Township earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Independence Township’s grade up (1.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (6.2%) is left out: Independence Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Independence Township could be anywhere from C to A−.
26% of working residents work in Harrisburg
Where Independence Township clocks in
26% of workers
10% 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.
A workday in Independence Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 463 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 135 people come in from elsewhere.
About 810 people are in Independence Township on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
How long Independence Township spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Independence Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 435 commuters (the 5% 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.
28% of the jobs in Independence Township make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Independence Township, 2013 → 2023: 57 → 142. 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 Independence Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Independence Township to work
About 25% 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.
In Independence Township, most people drive to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.2% 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 458 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 Independence Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Independence Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Independence Township next to U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500: 903rd of 3,771 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 901 | Menominee Township IL | 1,030 | $90K | 9.3% | 2.2% | 3% | B |
| 902 | Milford NJ | 1,224 | $72K | 8.8% | 5.8% | 1% | B |
| 903 | Independence Township IL | 1,135 | $79K | 1.8% | 6.2% | 1% | B |
| 904 | Georgetown ME | 1,101 | $84K | 6.3% | 3.5% | 4% | B |
| 905 | Israel Township OH | 1,131 | $70K | 2.5% | 0.8% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | 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 Independence Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Independence Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Harrisburg Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Independence Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Township | – | B | B− | 23 min | $79,375 |
| Stonefort Township | under 2% | — | — | 50 min | — |
| Mountain Township | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Harrisburg Township | 3% | D | B | 19 min | $46,474 |
| Carrier Mills Township | under 2% | C− | C− | 29 min | $53,189 |
Same-state neighbors only. Stonefort Township and Mountain Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Independence 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 Independence Township: questions
What is the median household income in Independence Township?
$79,375 (±$32,007) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Independence Township?
1.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Independence Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Independence Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harrisburg (26%, 7 mi), Marion (10%, 23 mi), Eldorado (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Independence Township walkable?
Independence Township is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 3.8 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Independence 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 Independence Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Independence 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.