With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Machesney Park works elsewhere
5,953 jobs are based in Machesney Park, against 10,827 working residents. Machesney Park grades C+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 7% stay in Machesney Park for work; outside it, Rockford is the main destination (33%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Machesney Park
Much of Machesney Park works one town over
46% of working residents work in a town that borders Machesney Park: Rockford (33%), Loves Park (11%) and Roscoe (2%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Machesney Park 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.
How Machesney Park earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Machesney Park is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #560 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Machesney Park’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Machesney Park could be anywhere from C to B.
The trip to work from Machesney Park: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Machesney Park workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,435 commuters (the 9% 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 works in Machesney Park, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 10,054 residents head out to work, 773 work right here, and 5,180 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Machesney Park on a workday afternoon, 21% 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 places Machesney Park commutes to
Where Machesney Park clocks in
33% 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.
31% of the jobs in Machesney Park make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Machesney Park, 2013 → 2023: 5,890 → 5,953. 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 Machesney Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Machesney Park commutes less than 9 miles
About 25% 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.
In Machesney Park, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Machesney Park is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns, #592 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Machesney Park 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 10,374 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.9% of Machesney Park households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Machesney Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Machesney Park places 1,276th of 1,712 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,274 | Lilburn GA | 16,369 | $64K | 22.9% | 5.1% | 4% | C+ |
| 1,275 | Garfield Township MI | 19,698 | $66K | 17.4% | 3.3% | 17% | C+ |
| 1,276 | Machesney Park IL | 22,805 | $75K | 13.7% | 7.1% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,277 | Glassmanor MD | 16,981 | $66K | 14.7% | 7.9% | <1% | C+ |
| 1,278 | Granite City IL | 26,807 | $59K | 14.8% | 5.7% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Machesney Park, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Machesney Park and its neighbors: 46% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Machesney Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machesney Park | – | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $75,489 |
| Loves Park | 11% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $61,868 |
| Harlem Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 23 min | $77,883 |
| Owen Township | under 2% | A | D− | 27 min | $95,370 |
| Roscoe Township | under 2% | A− | C+ | 27 min | $108,711 |
| Rockford | 33% | C− | B | 22 min | $54,752 |
| Roscoe | 2% | A− | C | 27 min | $93,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rockford. Darker towns draw more of Machesney Park’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 Machesney Park: questions
What is the median household income in Machesney Park?
$75,489 (±$3,066) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Machesney Park?
13.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Machesney Park?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Machesney Park work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (33%, 8 mi), Loves Park (11%, 2 mi), Chicago (4%, 78 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Machesney Park walkable?
Machesney Park is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Machesney Park without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Machesney Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Machesney Park
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.