Robert and Elizabeth Muirhead House · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Plato Township top those of 96% of U.S. towns
3.4% of residents are in poverty; Illinois has 11.8%. For jobs and income Plato Township is better than 97% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (C+). Only 3% work in Plato Township itself; outside it, Chicago draws the most (15%, 41 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Plato Township: the figures worth knowing
Plato Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Plato Township is Chicago, 41 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (918) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Plato Township is a place people come home to
There are 1,043 jobs based in Plato Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Plato Township has about 4,000 people in it, 57% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Plato Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Plato Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Plato Township went from 767 in 2013 to 1,043 in 2023, +36%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Plato Township
Household income is its strongest input ($154,851, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Plato Township could be anywhere from A to A+.
Plato Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Plato Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,106 residents head out to work, 181 work right here, and 862 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Plato Township on a workday afternoon, 57% fewer than live here.
0.17 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.
Commuting from Plato Township: about 35 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plato Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,836 commuters (the 20% 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.
66% of the jobs in Plato Township pay over $3,333 a month
1,043 jobs are based in Plato Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plato Township, 2013 → 2023: 767 → 1,043. 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 Plato Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Plato Township: the destinations
Where Plato Township clocks in
15% of workers
12% 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 Plato Township, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,778 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). 0.3% of Plato Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Plato Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Plato Township ranks: 142nd of 2,841 U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Hastings-on-Hudson NY | 8,440 | $194K | 2.3% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 141 | East Hills NY | 7,328 | $250K | 2.8% | 4.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 142 | Plato Township IL | 9,235 | $155K | 3.4% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| 143 | Middleton WI | 6,833 | $204K | 6.1% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 144 | Chesterfield Township NJ | 9,046 | $209K | 2.8% | 3.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,841 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Plato Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Plato Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Plato Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plato Township | – | A+ | C+ | 35 min | $154,851 |
| Elgin Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Burlington Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 29 min | $123,836 |
| Rutland Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 30 min | $105,703 |
| Campton Township | under 2% | A | B | 32 min | $181,066 |
| Elgin | 12% | B | A | 28 min | $90,282 |
| Campton Hills | under 2% | A | B | 34 min | $209,134 |
| Hampshire Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Elgin Township and Hampshire Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Elgin. Darker towns draw more of Plato 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 Plato Township: questions
What is the median household income in Plato Township?
$154,851 (±$28,128) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plato Township?
3.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plato Township?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plato Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 41 mi), Elgin (12%, 6 mi), Schaumburg (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plato Township walkable?
Plato Township is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plato Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plato Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plato 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.