Photo: MrHarman at English Wikipedia · Public domainEarning a living in Kankakee Township
Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, against 16% across Illinois. About one in four work in Kankakee Township itself; outside it, Kankakee draws the most (24%, 0 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Kankakee Township and work: the main findings
Kankakee Township and Kankakee trade workers both ways
Kankakee is the top workplace for Kankakee Township residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Kankakee Township come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Kankakee Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 46 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.
Where the trip to work from Kankakee Township ends
Where Kankakee Township clocks in
24% of workers
9% of workers
7% 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.
How long Kankakee Township spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kankakee Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,442 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.
Who commutes out of Kankakee Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 7,617 residents head out to work, 2,286 work right here, and 10,838 people come in from elsewhere.
About 27,000 people are in Kankakee Township on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What Kankakee Township’s employers do
13,124 jobs are based in Kankakee Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kankakee Township, 2013 → 2023: 14,450 → 13,124. 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 Kankakee Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Kankakee Township to work
About 29% 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.
Kankakee Township and its neighbors: 31% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kankakee Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kankakee Township | – | — | — | 22 min | $50,768 |
| Aroma Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 24 min | $74,740 |
| Otto Township | under 2% | B | C | 26 min | $80,250 |
| Bourbonnais Township | under 2% | B− | A− | 23 min | $76,228 |
| Limestone Township | under 2% | A− | D− | 23 min | $112,258 |
| Kankakee | 24% | D | A− | 22 min | $47,514 |
| Bradley | 7% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $67,420 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kankakee. Darker towns draw more of Kankakee 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 Kankakee Township: questions
What is the median household income in Kankakee Township?
$50,768 (±$5,081) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kankakee Township?
22.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kankakee Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kankakee Township work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kankakee (24%, 0 mi), Chicago (9%, 51 mi), Bradley (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Kankakee Township without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kankakee Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kankakee 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.