Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMore people are out of work in Somerset Township (7.8%) than in 87% of U.S. towns
Somerset Township grades C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where Illinois as a whole has 16%. Only 8% stay in Somerset Township for work; outside it, Murphysboro is the main destination (24%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Somerset Township, in a few figures
Somerset Township makes and builds things
65% of the jobs based in Somerset Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Somerset Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Somerset Township and Murphysboro trade workers both ways
Murphysboro is the top workplace for Somerset Township residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Somerset Township come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Somerset Township workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Somerset Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Somerset Township is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #556 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Somerset Township’s grade up (4.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Somerset Township could be anywhere from C− to B+.
65% of the jobs in Somerset Township make or build things
1,000 jobs are based in Somerset Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Somerset Township, 2013 → 2023: 828 → 1,000. 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 Somerset Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Somerset Township work
Where Somerset Township clocks in
24% of workers
21% 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.
Commuting from Somerset Township: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Somerset Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,546 commuters (the 4% 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 daily flow of workers through Somerset Township
On a workday 1,354 residents head out to work, 114 work right here, and 886 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Somerset Township on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
Miles to work from Somerset Township
About 20% 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 Somerset Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Somerset Township is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns, #723 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,613 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). 4.7% of Somerset Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Somerset Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Somerset Township next to U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,300: 2,433rd of 4,084 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,431 | Hanceville AL | 3,390 | $42K | 16.6% | 0.0% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,432 | Mauston WI | 4,133 | $64K | 18.5% | 1.2% | 30% | C+ |
| 2,433 | Somerset Township IL | 3,940 | $71K | 4.3% | 7.8% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,434 | Jay ME | 4,639 | $70K | 9.8% | 2.8% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,435 | Wells Township MI | 4,821 | $72K | 10.1% | 3.5% | 9% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,084 | 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 Somerset Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Somerset Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Murphysboro Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Somerset Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset Township | – | C+ | C− | 29 min | $70,911 |
| Levan Township | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Murphysboro Township | 2% | C− | B− | 20 min | $52,687 |
| De Soto Township | under 2% | C | C+ | 17 min | $70,848 |
| Vergennes Township | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Levan Township and Vergennes Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Somerset 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 Somerset Township: questions
What is the median household income in Somerset Township?
$70,911 (±$15,006) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Somerset Township?
4.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Somerset Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Somerset Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Murphysboro (24%, 4 mi), Carbondale (21%, 8 mi), Marion (5%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Somerset Township walkable?
Somerset Township is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Somerset Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Somerset Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Somerset 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.