Photo: B45p32b · CC BY-SA 4.0South Beloit has higher unemployment (5.9%) than 73% of U.S. towns
2% of workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Jobs and income earn South Beloit B; getting around on foot earns it B−. Only 7% work in South Beloit; the top destination outside it is Rockford (18%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
South Beloit at work: what stands out
South Beloit makes and builds things
65% of the jobs based in South Beloit are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs South Beloit residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Many of the people who work in South Beloit live in another state
Beloit, WI (15%) and Janesville, WI (3%) are among the top places South Beloit’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 18% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
South Beloit and Rockford trade workers both ways
Rockford is the top workplace for South Beloit residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in South Beloit come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few South Beloit workers work from home
Only 2% 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.
South Beloit’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, South Beloit is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #468 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds South Beloit’s grade up (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, South Beloit could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
South Beloit works in goods: 65% of its jobs
2,928 jobs are based in South Beloit.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Beloit, 2013 → 2023: 2,485 → 2,928. 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 South Beloit’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where South Beloit goes to work
Where South Beloit clocks in
18% of workers
12% of workers
6% 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.
The trip to work from South Beloit: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Beloit workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,278 commuters (the 2% 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.
South Beloit by day and by night
On a workday 3,424 residents head out to work, 246 work right here, and 2,682 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 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.
How many miles South Beloit commutes
About 25% 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.
South Beloit is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Beloit is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #556 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 4,368 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% 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 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 69% 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). 2.3% of South Beloit households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of South Beloit’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,600 to 10,800, South Beloit ranks 1,598th of 3,015 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,596 | Brigantine NJ | 7,658 | $97K | 9.4% | 5.7% | 14% | B |
| 1,597 | Middlesex Township PA | 7,636 | $77K | 9.1% | 5.2% | 8% | B |
| 1,598 | South Beloit IL | 7,996 | $79K | 8.0% | 5.9% | 7% | B |
| 1,599 | Robertsdale AL | 7,761 | $59K | 11.1% | 0.3% | 9% | B |
| 1,600 | Sebastopol CA | 7,532 | $88K | 8.7% | 6.0% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,015 | 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 South Beloit, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
South Beloit and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Rockton (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Beloit workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Beloit | – | B | B− | 25 min | $78,616 |
| Roscoe | 3% | A− | C | 27 min | $93,036 |
| Rockton | 4% | A | C | 25 min | $119,058 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Beloit’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 South Beloit: questions
What is the median household income in South Beloit?
$78,616 (±$8,627) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Beloit?
8.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Beloit?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Beloit work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockford (18%, 16 mi), Beloit (12%, 3 mi), Janesville (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is South Beloit walkable?
South Beloit is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Beloit without a car?
<1% 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 South Beloit, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Beloit
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.