Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Rockdale (8.7%) is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. For jobs and income Rockdale is better than 26% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (A+). Home is the office for 5% of workers, where Illinois as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Rockdale at work: what stands out
Rockdale is where the jobs are
Rockdale has 1,807 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 2,900 people are in town, 45% more than the 2,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Rockdale and Joliet trade workers both ways
Joliet is the top workplace for Rockdale residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Rockdale come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Rockdale pay better than its residents’ jobs
82% of the jobs based in Rockdale pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 61% of the jobs Rockdale residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Rockdale. 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; with 912 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Rockdale’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car holds Rockdale’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (25.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockdale could be anywhere from C− to B.
Rockdale fills up on a workday
On a workday 886 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 1,781 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Rockdale on a workday afternoon, 45% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where the people who work in Rockdale live
Where Rockdale clocks in
22% of workers
8% 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.
Rockdale works in goods: 31% of its jobs
1,807 jobs are based in Rockdale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockdale, 2014 → 2024: 2,235 → 1,807. 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 Rockdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Rockdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockdale workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,298 commuters (the 5% 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 far it is to work from Rockdale
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.
In Rockdale, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,371 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 2.8% of Rockdale households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rockdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rockdale is 3,666th of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,664 | Lower Mifflin Township PA | 1,795 | $61K | 16.7% | 4.4% | 1% | C |
| 3,665 | Lewis Township PA | 1,461 | $64K | 10.4% | 2.6% | 1% | C |
| 3,666 | Rockdale IL | 1,969 | $59K | 25.8% | 8.7% | 3% | C |
| 3,667 | Cherryvale KS | 2,093 | $50K | 21.0% | 1.7% | 18% | C |
| 3,668 | West Liberty OH | 1,756 | $52K | 11.2% | 2.1% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Rockdale, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
22% of Rockdale works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Joliet. Darker towns draw more of Rockdale’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 Rockdale: questions
What is the median household income in Rockdale?
$59,135 (±$8,396) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockdale?
25.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockdale?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockdale work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Joliet (22%, 2 mi), Chicago (8%, 32 mi), Bolingbrook (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Rockdale walkable?
Rockdale is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockdale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockdale
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.