Jobs, income and commuting in Topeka, IL
Commuters spend 36 minutes getting to work on average, where Illinois has 28 and the U.S. 26. Home is the office for 0% of workers (Illinois 16%). Hardly any stay in Topeka for work; outside it, Havana is the main destination (23%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Topeka on a workday afternoon
On a workday 30 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20 people are in Topeka on a workday afternoon, 60% fewer than live here.
0.00 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.
Commuting out of Topeka: the destinations
Where Topeka clocks in
23% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
Topeka’s commute takes about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Topeka workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16 commuters (the 0% 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 from Topeka, by distance
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.
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 Topeka: questions
What is the median household income in Topeka?
$77,500 (±$24,212) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Topeka?
0.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Topeka?
36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Topeka work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Havana (23%, 7 mi), Springfield (10%, 40 mi), Canton (7%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Topeka without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Topeka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Topeka
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.