Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture Preston Keres/Office of Communications-Photography Services Center · Public domainLake Summerset has some of the highest unemployment in the country: 15.9%
The two grades for Lake Summerset are B for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Measured by household income, Lake Summerset is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. Hardly any work in Lake Summerset; the top destination outside it is Rockford (19%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Lake Summerset stands out on work
Lake Summerset is a place people come home to
There are 40 jobs based in Lake Summerset, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lake Summerset has about 1,400 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Lake Summerset workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Lake Summerset
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Summerset is better than 59% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Lake Summerset’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Summerset could be anywhere from B− to A.
Who leaves Lake Summerset for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,048 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 34 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Lake Summerset on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
0.04 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From Lake Summerset, about 40 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Summerset workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 895 commuters (the 10% 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.
Lake Summerset’s commute, mile by mile
About 30% 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.
Out of Lake Summerset to work: where people go
Where Lake Summerset clocks in
19% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Lake Summerset is a services town
40 jobs are based in Lake Summerset.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Summerset, 2013 → 2023: 38 → 40. 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 Summerset’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Lake Summerset, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Summerset is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.2% 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 1,000 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). 1.3% of Lake Summerset households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lake Summerset’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lake Summerset next to U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200: 1,736th of 4,995 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,734 | Palmyra Township MI | 1,999 | $85K | 8.2% | 4.2% | 2% | B |
| 1,735 | Fayal Township MN | 1,799 | $87K | 3.7% | 0.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,736 | Lake Summerset IL | 2,364 | $108K | 3.0% | 15.9% | 1% | B |
| 1,737 | Corydon IN | 3,196 | $57K | 8.8% | 2.3% | 14% | B |
| 1,738 | Boyd TX | 2,546 | $69K | 10.4% | 3.1% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Lake Summerset, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work in the towns next to Lake Summerset
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Summerset workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Summerset | – | B | C− | 40 min | $108,355 |
| Rock Grove Township | under 2% | B+ | D− | 37 min | $99,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Summerset’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 Summerset: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Summerset?
$108,355 (±$21,469) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Summerset?
3.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Summerset?
40 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Summerset work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (19%, 21 mi), Freeport (7%, 17 mi), Chicago (5%, 97 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lake Summerset walkable?
Lake Summerset is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Summerset without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Summerset, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Summerset
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.