Taft Farmstead · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainSpringfield draws more than half of Rochester Township’s working residents
Only 5% work in Rochester Township; the top destination outside it is Springfield (58%, 7 miles). Jobs and income earn Rochester Township A; getting around on foot earns it C−. Measured by household income, Rochester Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rochester Township in brief
More than half of Rochester Township works in Springfield
1,495 working residents, 58%, have their main job in Springfield, 6.7 miles away across the town line. That’s 12 times as many as work in Rochester Township itself. The commute map ↓
Most Rochester Township residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Rochester Township
67% of Rochester Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 44% of the jobs based in Rochester Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Rochester Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Rochester Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Rochester Township went from 790 in 2013 to 1,120 in 2023, +42%. 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.
Why Rochester Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rochester Township is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #83 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rochester Township could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Where Rochester Township goes to work
Where Rochester Township clocks in
58% of workers
2% 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.
How far Rochester Township goes to work
About 22% 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.
In Rochester Township, services account for most jobs
1,120 jobs are based in Rochester Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rochester Township, 2013 → 2023: 790 → 1,120. 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 Rochester Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Rochester Township: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rochester Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,005 commuters (the 17% 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.
How a workday changes Rochester Township
On a workday 2,421 residents head out to work, 139 work right here, and 981 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Rochester Township on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.44 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.
For most of Rochester Township, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rochester Township is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns, #738 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Rochester 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 2,425 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 1% 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). 1.9% of Rochester Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rochester Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,476 U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,700, Rochester Township comes 305th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Grandwood Park IL | 5,262 | $127K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 303 | Bayville NY | 6,780 | $149K | 3.7% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| 304 | Chagrin Falls OH | 4,073 | $100K | 3.5% | 3.0% | 10% | A |
| 305 | Rochester Township IL | 5,700 | $115K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 5% | A |
| 306 | Sadsbury Township PA | 4,741 | $117K | 2.8% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| 307 | Perry UT | 6,226 | $113K | 2.3% | 1.6% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | 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 Rochester Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 59% of Rochester Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rochester Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester Township | – | A | C− | 22 min | $114,551 |
| Capital Township | under 1% | C | A | 17 min | $65,902 |
| Springfield | 58% | C | A | 17 min | $66,064 |
| Cotton Hill Township | under 1% | — | — | 56 min | — |
| Cooper Township | under 1% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Woodside Township | 1% | B | A | 18 min | $73,007 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cotton Hill Township: not graded. Cooper Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of Rochester 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 Rochester Township: questions
What is the median household income in Rochester Township?
$114,551 (±$9,832) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rochester Township?
2.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rochester Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rochester Township work?
5% work in town.
Is Rochester Township walkable?
Rochester Township is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rochester Township without a car?
0% 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 Rochester Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rochester 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.