With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Seward Township works elsewhere
687 jobs are based in Seward Township; 3,449 of its residents have a job. Seward Township grades A for jobs and income and C for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Seward Township at work: what stands out
Seward Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (27 to 36 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Seward Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Seward Township went from 368 in 2013 to 687 in 2023, +87%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
57% of the jobs in Seward Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 28% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Seward Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Seward Township is Chicago, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (447) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Seward Township is a place people come home to
There are 687 jobs based in Seward Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Seward Township has about 4,000 people in it, 41% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
What’s behind Seward Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Seward Township is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #74 of 768 in Illinois. Unemployment is its strongest input (1.6%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Seward Township could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Seward Township’s commute takes about 40 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seward Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,189 commuters (the 11% 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 kinds of work in Seward Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seward Township, 2013 → 2023: 368 → 687. 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 Seward Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Seward Township goes to work
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.
Seward Township by day and by night
On a workday 3,406 residents head out to work, 43 work right here, and 644 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Seward Township on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Seward Township clocks in
13% of workers
10% of workers
4% 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.
Most of Seward Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Seward Township is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns, #693 of 768 in Illinois. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 4.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,580 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). 0.0% of Seward Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Seward Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Seward Township is 279th among 3,168 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,200
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Old Westbury NY | 5,071 | $250K | 3.2% | 5.2% | 4% | A |
| 278 | Camp Hill PA | 8,199 | $116K | 6.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A |
| 279 | Seward Township IL | 6,806 | $122K | 7.6% | 1.6% | 1% | A |
| 280 | Brentwood NH | 4,923 | $166K | 3.3% | 2.3% | 5% | A |
| 281 | Washington WI | 7,478 | $110K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,168 | 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 Seward Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Seward Township
The biggest share goes to Minooka (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Seward Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seward Township | – | A | C | 40 min | $121,548 |
| Aux Sable Township | under 2% | A− | C+ | 31 min | $109,269 |
| Na-Au-Say Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 31 min | $127,857 |
| Troy Township | under 2% | A | B | 30 min | $109,309 |
| Lisbon Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Minooka | 3% | A | C | 32 min | $115,445 |
| Plattville | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lisbon Township and Plattville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Seward 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 Seward Township: questions
What is the median household income in Seward Township?
$121,548 (±$31,466) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seward Township?
7.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seward Township?
40 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seward Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (13%, 40 mi), Joliet (10%, 9 mi), Naperville (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seward Township walkable?
Seward Township is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seward Township without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Seward Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seward 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.