For more than half of its working residents, Rochester is a commute to Springfield
Measured by household income, Rochester is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Rochester grades A for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 3% work in Rochester; the top destination outside it is Springfield (58%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Rochester
More than half of Rochester works in Springfield
1,033 working residents, 58%, have their main job in Springfield, 7.3 miles away. That’s 19 times as many as work in Rochester itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Rochester
67% of Rochester residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 37% of the jobs based in Rochester pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Most Rochester residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Commutes from Rochester are quick
The average trip to work takes 23 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Rochester are held by workers 29 or younger, against 20% of Rochester’s own working residents. 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.
Why Rochester gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rochester is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #118 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.5%, 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 could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Where the trip to work from Rochester ends
Where Rochester clocks in
58% 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 Rochester, services account for most jobs
788 jobs are based in Rochester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rochester, 2013 → 2023: 702 → 788. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Rochester’s commute, mile by mile
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.
About 23 minutes each way for Rochester’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rochester workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,404 commuters (the 19% 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.
Rochester on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,744 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 738 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Rochester 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.
Most of Rochester commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rochester is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns, #734 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Rochester 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 1,736 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). 2.2% of Rochester households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rochester’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rochester places 394th of 4,023 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 392 | Jackson Township PA | 4,568 | $122K | 4.0% | 1.7% | 1% | A |
| 393 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| 394 | Rochester IL | 4,093 | $117K | 2.5% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| 395 | Clarks Summit PA | 5,069 | $92K | 4.6% | 1.0% | 7% | A |
| 396 | Van Buren Township IN | 4,320 | $100K | 0.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
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: questions
What is the median household income in Rochester?
$117,118 (±$10,859) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rochester?
2.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rochester?
23 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rochester work?
3% work in town.
Is Rochester walkable?
Rochester is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rochester 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, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rochester
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.