Poplar Grove has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
453 jobs are based in Poplar Grove, against 2,233 working residents. Jobs and income earn Poplar Grove A−; getting around on foot earns it D. Household incomes here are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Poplar Grove: the gist
Poplar Grove is a place people come home to
There are 453 jobs based in Poplar Grove, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Poplar Grove has about 3,400 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Poplar Grove and Rockford trade workers both ways
Rockford is the top workplace for Poplar Grove residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Poplar Grove come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Poplar Grove
63% of Poplar Grove residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Poplar Grove pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Few Poplar Grove workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Poplar Grove are held by workers 29 or younger, against 21% of Poplar Grove’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Poplar Grove’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Poplar Grove is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #237 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Poplar Grove’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Poplar Grove could be anywhere from B to A+.
How many people are in Poplar Grove by day
On a workday 2,188 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 408 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Poplar Grove on a workday afternoon, 34% 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 2024, primary jobs.
25% of working residents work in Rockford
Where Poplar Grove clocks in
25% of workers
11% 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 Poplar Grove: what the 453 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Poplar Grove, 2014 → 2024: 400 → 453. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Poplar Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Poplar Grove: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Poplar Grove workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,716 commuters (the 4% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Poplar Grove
About 24% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Poplar Grove walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Poplar Grove is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns, #749 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,782 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). 2.2% of Poplar Grove households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Poplar Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000, Poplar Grove ranks 801st of 3,696 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 799 | Belleair FL | 4,631 | $117K | 5.7% | 5.5% | 4% | A− |
| 800 | Lake Barrington IL | 5,130 | $142K | 6.3% | 5.9% | 2% | A− |
| 801 | Poplar Grove IL | 5,206 | $120K | 3.7% | 5.2% | 2% | A− |
| 802 | Morgan's Point Resort TX | 4,746 | $79K | 6.3% | 1.2% | 1% | A− |
| 803 | Perry Township OH | 4,729 | $99K | 5.1% | 1.5% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Poplar Grove, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Poplar Grove
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Poplar Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar Grove | – | A− | D | 29 min | $120,278 |
| Candlewick Lake | under 2% | B | C− | 38 min | $86,146 |
| Timberlane | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Caledonia | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Timberlane: not graded. Caledonia: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Poplar Grove’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 2024, 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 Poplar Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Poplar Grove?
$120,278 (±$23,248) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Poplar Grove?
3.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Poplar Grove?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Poplar Grove work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (25%, 13 mi), Belvidere (11%, 6 mi), Loves Park (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Poplar Grove walkable?
Poplar Grove is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Poplar Grove without a car?
0% 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 Poplar Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Poplar Grove
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.