Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5Most of Lost Nation commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Lost Nation report 32 jobs; 294 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Lost Nation for work; outside it, Dixon is the main destination (10%, 7 miles). For 7% of workers, the job is at home (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Lost Nation, in brief
In and out of Lost Nation on a workday
On a workday 293 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 31 people come in from elsewhere.
About 450 people are in Lost Nation on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
The towns that employ Lost Nation’s residents
Where Lost Nation clocks in
10% of workers
8% 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.
Jobs in Lost Nation: what the 32 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lost Nation, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 32. 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 Lost Nation’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Lost Nation: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lost Nation workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 327 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.
How far Lost Nation’s workers travel
About 26% 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.
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 Lost Nation: questions
What is the median household income in Lost Nation?
$108,964 (±$7,204) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lost Nation?
4.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lost Nation?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lost Nation work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dixon (10%, 7 mi), Rockford (8%, 29 mi), Oregon (7%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lost Nation 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 Lost Nation, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lost Nation
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.