Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0Manhattan Township’s household incomes are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Manhattan Township A+; getting around on foot earns it B−. Below the poverty line: 4.0% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Only 6% work in Manhattan Township; the top destination outside it is Chicago (9%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Manhattan Township stands out on work
Manhattan Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Manhattan Township is a place people come home to
There are 1,194 jobs based in Manhattan Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Manhattan Township has about 8,000 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Manhattan Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Manhattan Township is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (558) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
What’s behind Manhattan Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Manhattan Township is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #22 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Manhattan Township’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Manhattan Township could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 37 minutes each way for Manhattan Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manhattan Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,740 commuters (the 12% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Manhattan Township
On a workday 5,901 residents head out to work, 344 work right here, and 850 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,000 people are in Manhattan Township on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.19 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.
How far Manhattan Township goes to work
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.
The places Manhattan Township commutes to
Where Manhattan Township clocks in
9% 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.
What the 1,194 jobs in Manhattan Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manhattan Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,240 → 1,194. 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 Manhattan Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Manhattan Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Manhattan Township is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #514 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Manhattan 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 6,491 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% 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). 2.3% of Manhattan Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Manhattan Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000, Manhattan Township ranks 75th of 2,526 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | London Grove Township PA | 9,047 | $176K | 1.8% | 0.3% | 5% | A+ |
| 74 | Manhattan IL | 10,943 | $129K | 4.2% | 1.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 75 | Manhattan Township IL | 13,099 | $129K | 4.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 76 | Mount Airy MD | 9,857 | $151K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 9% | A+ |
| 77 | Gretna NE | 9,207 | $124K | 4.2% | 0.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | 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 Manhattan Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Manhattan Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Frankfort (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Manhattan Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan Township | – | A+ | B− | 37 min | $129,207 |
| Wilton Township | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Green Garden Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 33 min | $133,977 |
| Jackson Township | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $104,292 |
| Frankfort | 3% | A | A− | 35 min | $154,375 |
| New Lenox Township | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 32 min | $133,434 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wilton Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Manhattan 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 Manhattan Township: questions
What is the median household income in Manhattan Township?
$129,207 (±$8,043) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manhattan Township?
4.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manhattan Township?
37 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manhattan Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (9%, 32 mi), Joliet (8%, 12 mi), New Lenox (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Manhattan Township walkable?
Manhattan Township is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manhattan Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Manhattan Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manhattan 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.