Lake Carroll has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
There are 130 jobs in Lake Carroll, and 291 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% stay in Lake Carroll for work; outside it, Freeport is the main destination (13%, 14 miles). The trip to work takes 30 minutes on average (Illinois 28, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Lake Carroll
On a workday 285 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 124 people come in from elsewhere.
About 690 people are in Lake Carroll on a workday afternoon, 19% 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 Lake Carroll goes to work
Where Lake Carroll clocks in
13% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Carroll, 2013 → 2023: 118 → 130. 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 Lake Carroll’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Lake Carroll, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Carroll workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 226 commuters (the 11% 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.
How far Lake Carroll’s workers travel
About 27% 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.
How Lake Carroll compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Carroll workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Carroll | – | — | — | 30 min | $108,750 |
| Cherry Grove-Shannon Township | under 2% | C− | B+ | 27 min | $74,191 |
| Jefferson Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Jefferson Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Carroll’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 Lake Carroll: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Carroll?
$108,750 (±$27,715) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Carroll?
5.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Carroll?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Carroll work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (13%, 14 mi), Lanark (10%, 5 mi), Shannon (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lake Carroll without a car?
0% 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 Lake Carroll, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Carroll
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.