Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of South Fork Township works elsewhere
304 jobs are based in South Fork Township; 1,077 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn South Fork Township C+; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 5% stay in South Fork Township for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (25%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in South Fork Township
Stores, warehouses and trucking
47% of the jobs in South Fork Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
South Fork Township is a place people come home to
There are 304 jobs based in South Fork Township, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday South Fork Township has about 1,700 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for South Fork Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, South Fork Township is better than 37% of U.S. towns. Household income holds South Fork Township’s grade up ($76,354, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, South Fork Township could be anywhere from D to A−.
The kinds of work in South Fork Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Fork Township, 2013 → 2023: 271 → 304. 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 Fork Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through South Fork Township
On a workday 1,026 residents head out to work, 51 work right here, and 253 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in South Fork Township on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
Half of South Fork Township commutes less than 20 miles
About 30% 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.
The places South Fork Township commutes to
Where South Fork Township clocks in
25% of workers
16% 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.
From South Fork Township, about 25 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Fork Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,018 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 in South Fork Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Fork Township is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place South Fork Township 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 1,153 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). 3.5% of South Fork Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of South Fork Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
South Fork Township places 3,031st of 5,207 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,029 | Cuba MO | 3,288 | $46K | 14.0% | 0.6% | 28% | C+ |
| 3,030 | Gambier OH | 2,233 | $93K | 21.5% | 4.2% | 13% | C+ |
| 3,031 | South Fork Township IL | 2,452 | $76K | 12.2% | 5.4% | 5% | C+ |
| 3,032 | Lurgan Township PA | 2,208 | $88K | 9.8% | 6.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 3,033 | West Nottingham Township PA | 2,864 | $77K | 9.5% | 6.2% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Fork Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to South Fork Township
The biggest share goes to Taylorville Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Fork Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Fork Township | – | C+ | C− | 25 min | $76,354 |
| Taylorville Township | 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Cotton Hill Township | under 2% | — | — | 56 min | — |
| Buckhart Township | under 2% | B | C− | 21 min | $97,746 |
| Pawnee Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Taylorville Township, Cotton Hill Township and Pawnee Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Fork 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 South Fork Township: questions
What is the median household income in South Fork Township?
$76,354 (±$17,783) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Fork Township?
12.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Fork Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Fork Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (25%, 18 mi), Taylorville (16%, 7 mi), Decatur (5%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is South Fork Township walkable?
South Fork Township is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Fork Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Fork Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Fork 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.