Photo: Skvader · CC BY-SA 4.0Tolono Township has higher unemployment (6.7%) than 80% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 20 minutes getting to work on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Tolono Township B; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 5% work in Tolono Township itself; outside it, Champaign draws the most (35%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Tolono Township apart on work
Tolono Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Tolono Township went from 893 in 2014 to 1,674 in 2024, +87%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Tolono Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
One in three of Tolono Township works in Champaign
957 working residents, 35%, have their main job in Champaign, 6.7 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in Tolono Township itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Tolono Township
66% of Tolono Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Tolono Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Most Tolono Township residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Tolono Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tolono Township is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #440 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Tolono Township’s grade up (5.5%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. 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, Tolono Township could be anywhere from C to A.
What the 1,674 jobs in Tolono Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tolono Township, 2014 → 2024: 893 → 1,674. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Tolono Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Tolono Township: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tolono Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,835 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 places Tolono Township commutes to
Where Tolono Township clocks in
35% of workers
17% of workers
3% 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.
Miles to work from Tolono 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The workday shuffle in and out of Tolono Township
On a workday 2,589 residents head out to work, 138 work right here, and 1,536 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Tolono Township on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.61 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 2024, primary jobs.
For most of Tolono Township, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tolono Township is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns, #711 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 3,224 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 1.3% of Tolono Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Tolono Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,297 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,400, Tolono Township comes 1,566th 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 3% | A+ |
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,564 | Withamsville OH | 7,429 | $72K | 13.7% | 3.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,565 | Sullivan Township IL | 6,229 | $69K | 8.0% | 1.8% | 27% | B |
| 1,566 | Tolono Township IL | 6,256 | $91K | 5.5% | 6.7% | 5% | B |
| 1,567 | Ohio Township IN | 4,886 | $76K | 7.9% | 3.9% | 16% | B |
| 1,568 | Winslow ME | 8,063 | $71K | 10.8% | 1.3% | 13% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,297 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Tolono Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Tolono Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Savoy (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tolono Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolono Township | – | B | C− | 20 min | $90,641 |
| Philo Township | under 2% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $113,201 |
| Colfax Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Pesotum Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Savoy | 3% | A− | B | 18 min | $91,966 |
| Champaign Township | 2% | A | A− | 17 min | $100,063 |
| Sadorus Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Colfax Township, Pesotum Township and Sadorus Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Tolono 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 2024, 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 Tolono Township: questions
What is the median household income in Tolono Township?
$90,641 (±$22,342) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tolono Township?
5.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tolono Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tolono Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Champaign (35%, 7 mi), Urbana (17%, 8 mi), Savoy (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Tolono Township walkable?
Tolono Township is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tolono Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tolono Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tolono Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.