Photo: A. McMurray A mcmurray · CC BY 2.5At 3.2%, unemployment in Sandwich is lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 27 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). The two grades for Sandwich are B for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven stay in Sandwich for work; outside it, Aurora is the main destination (7%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Sandwich: the gist
No single place dominates Sandwich’s commute
The biggest draw, Aurora, gets only 7% of working residents, and 54% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Sandwich residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Sandwich
59% of Sandwich residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Sandwich pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 87% leave town for their job. 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.
Inside Sandwich’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sandwich is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #415 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment holds Sandwich’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (10.3%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sandwich could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Out of Sandwich to work: where people go
Where Sandwich clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
Inside Sandwich’s 2,392 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sandwich, 2013 → 2023: 2,230 → 2,392. 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 Sandwich’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Sandwich
On a workday 2,762 residents head out to work, 399 work right here, and 1,993 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,600 people are in Sandwich on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 27 minutes each way for Sandwich’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sandwich workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,010 commuters (the 12% 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.
The commute from Sandwich, by distance
About 15% 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.
Most of Sandwich commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sandwich is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #417 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Sandwich 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 3,407 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). 7.1% of Sandwich households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sandwich’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,000, Sandwich ranks 1,459th of 3,083 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,457 | Perry Township IN | 7,046 | $73K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 15% | B |
| 1,458 | Carrollton VA | 8,436 | $111K | 6.8% | 9.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,459 | Sandwich IL | 7,380 | $81K | 10.3% | 3.2% | 13% | B |
| 1,460 | Glenwood IA | 5,287 | $72K | 11.8% | 2.7% | 24% | B |
| 1,461 | Green Lake Township MI | 6,822 | $93K | 8.1% | 3.1% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,083 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Sandwich, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Sandwich
The biggest share goes to Plano (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sandwich workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandwich | – | B | B+ | 27 min | $80,768 |
| Little Rock Township | 2% | B | C+ | 28 min | $87,011 |
| Fox Township | under 2% | A | C | 29 min | $116,250 |
| Somonauk | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 28 min | $84,583 |
| Plano | 6% | B | B− | 28 min | $86,271 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sandwich’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 Sandwich: questions
What is the median household income in Sandwich?
$80,768 (±$4,233) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sandwich?
10.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sandwich?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sandwich work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aurora (7%, 19 mi), Plano (6%, 5 mi), Chicago (5%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sandwich walkable?
Sandwich is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sandwich without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sandwich, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sandwich
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.