Households in Lancaster Township have higher incomes than those in 69% of U.S. towns
For 7% of workers, the job is at home, against 16% across Illinois. 6.6% of residents live below the poverty line (Illinois 11.8%). Jobs and income earn Lancaster Township B+; getting around on foot earns it D−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lancaster Township: the figures worth knowing
Lancaster Township makes and builds things
78% of the jobs based in Lancaster Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Lancaster Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
Lancaster Township and Freeport trade workers both ways
Freeport is the top workplace for Lancaster Township residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Lancaster Township come from (34% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Lancaster Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Lancaster Township fell from 1,032 in 2013 to 507 in 2023, −51%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 644 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Lancaster Township earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Lancaster Township is better than 66% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Lancaster Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (2.5%) is left out: Lancaster 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, Lancaster Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
A place that makes things: 78% of Lancaster Township’s jobs are in goods
507 jobs are based in Lancaster Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lancaster Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,032 → 507. 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 Lancaster Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
26% of working residents work in Freeport
Where Lancaster 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.
In and out of Lancaster Township on a workday
On a workday 629 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 492 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Lancaster Township on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 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.
About 18 minutes to work from Lancaster Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lancaster Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 760 commuters (the 7% 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.
Half of Lancaster Township commutes less than 23 miles
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.
Most trips from Lancaster Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lancaster Township is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Lancaster Township near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 816 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). 7.6% of Lancaster Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lancaster Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lancaster Township ranks: 1,088th of 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | Coal Fork WV | 1,423 | $70K | 2.3% | 29.5% | <1% | B+ |
| 1,087 | Smithville OH | 1,333 | $72K | 6.7% | 1.8% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,088 | Lancaster Township IL | 1,351 | $91K | 6.6% | 2.5% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,089 | Bridgewater Township MI | 1,551 | $103K | 7.8% | 2.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,090 | Balfour NC | 1,134 | $70K | 5.6% | 0.0% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | 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 Lancaster Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 27% of Lancaster Township’s workers
The biggest share goes to Freeport (26%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lancaster Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster Township | – | B+ | D− | 18 min | $91,250 |
| Freeport | 26% | C− | B+ | 16 min | $51,723 |
| Freeport Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Silver Creek Township | 1% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Harlem Township | under 2% | A− | D | 31 min | $95,000 |
| Dakota Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Rock Run Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 30 min | $90,083 |
Same-state neighbors only. Freeport Township: not graded. Silver Creek Township and Dakota Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lancaster 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 Lancaster Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lancaster Township?
$91,250 (±$13,881) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lancaster Township?
6.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lancaster Township?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lancaster Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (26%, 5 mi), Rockford (10%, 26 mi), Monroe (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lancaster Township walkable?
Lancaster Township is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lancaster 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 Lancaster Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lancaster 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.