Households in Riley Township earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 3% of workers; Illinois has 16%. Below the poverty line: 6.5% of residents; Illinois has 11.8%. Riley Township grades A for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Riley Township apart on work
Riley Township makes and builds things
73% of the jobs based in Riley Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Riley Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
Riley Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Riley Township went from 430 in 2013 to 717 in 2023, +67%. The jobs ↓
Few Riley Township workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Riley Township pay over $40,000 a year
74% of the jobs based in Riley Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
The figures behind Riley Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riley Township is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #149 of 768 in Illinois. Household income is its strongest input ($164,764, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.5%, 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, Riley Township could be anywhere from B to A+.
Riley Township makes things: 73% of its jobs are in goods
717 jobs are based in Riley Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riley Township, 2013 → 2023: 430 → 717. 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 Riley Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Riley Township spends getting to work: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riley Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,520 commuters (the 3% 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.
Riley Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,403 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 673 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Riley Township on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.50 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.
9% of working residents work in Marengo
Where Riley Township clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Riley Township
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.
Riley Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riley Township is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns, #718 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 1,564 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). 0.0% of Riley Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Riley Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Riley Township is 490th among 4,771 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 488 | Andrews AFB MD | 3,130 | $87K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 3% | A |
| 489 | Rivanna VA | 2,211 | $146K | 4.6% | 8.1% | 2% | A |
| 490 | Riley Township IL | 3,017 | $165K | 6.5% | 3.5% | 3% | A |
| 491 | Clay Township IN | 4,032 | $104K | 2.8% | 2.2% | 3% | A |
| 492 | Princetown NY | 2,113 | $98K | 4.2% | 4.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Riley Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Riley Township: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Riley Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riley Township | – | A | C− | 32 min | $164,764 |
| Marengo Township | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Spring Township | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Genoa Township | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Coral Township | under 3% | A− | C− | 31 min | $110,888 |
| Seneca Township | under 3% | B+ | C− | 34 min | $133,558 |
Same-state neighbors only. Marengo Township, Spring Township and Genoa Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Riley 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 Riley Township: questions
What is the median household income in Riley Township?
$164,764 (±$38,479) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riley Township?
6.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riley Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riley Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marengo (9%, 4 mi), Chicago (7%, 56 mi), Elgin (5%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riley Township walkable?
Riley Township is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riley Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riley Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riley 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.