Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMost of Oblong Township commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Working from home is the commute for 1% of workers; Illinois has 16%. Oblong Township has 586 jobs; 1,191 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Oblong Township C; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Oblong Township
Commutes from Oblong Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Oblong Township workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
One in three of Oblong Township works in Robinson
387 working residents, 32%, have their main job in Robinson, 7.9 miles away. That’s twice as many as work in Oblong Township itself. The commute map ↓
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 Oblong Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oblong Township is better than 29% of U.S. towns, #640 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Oblong Township’s grade up (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oblong Township could be anywhere from C− to B−.
The daily trip from Oblong Township: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oblong Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,207 commuters (the 1% 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.
32% of working residents work in Robinson
Where Oblong Township clocks in
32% of workers
11% 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.
In and out of Oblong Township on a workday
On a workday 1,015 residents head out to work, 176 work right here, and 410 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Oblong Township on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
What Oblong Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oblong Township, 2013 → 2023: 458 → 586. 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 Oblong Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Oblong Township, by distance
About 21% 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.
Driving is how Oblong Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oblong Township is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #551 of 768 in Illinois. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,221 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). 2.1% of Oblong Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Oblong Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,424th of 4,969: where Oblong Township ranks among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,422 | Kalkaska MI | 2,258 | $57K | 13.3% | 3.4% | 22% | C |
| 3,423 | Forsyth MO | 2,752 | $46K | 11.7% | 2.9% | 12% | C |
| 3,424 | Oblong Township IL | 2,730 | $59K | 16.8% | 2.3% | 15% | C |
| 3,425 | Perry Township OH | 1,989 | $77K | 18.8% | 2.8% | <1% | C |
| 3,426 | Mount Pleasant Township OH | 2,165 | $72K | 10.7% | 3.0% | 3% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Oblong Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Oblong Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Robinson Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oblong Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oblong Township | – | C | B− | 16 min | $59,063 |
| Licking Township | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Willow Hill Township | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Martin Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Robinson Township | 5% | B− | B+ | 13 min | $78,105 |
Same-state neighbors only. Licking Township, Willow Hill Township and Martin Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oblong 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 Oblong Township: questions
What is the median household income in Oblong Township?
$59,063 (±$4,271) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oblong Township?
16.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oblong Township?
16 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oblong Township work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Robinson (32%, 8 mi), Oblong (11%, 2 mi), Robinson Township (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oblong Township walkable?
Oblong Township is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oblong Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oblong Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oblong 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.