Work means Effingham for about two in five of Watson Township’s working residents
Watson Township grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 7% stay in Watson Township for work; outside it, Effingham is the main destination (40%, 5 miles). The average commute takes 18 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Watson Township apart
Watson Township trades workers with the towns around it
Watson Township has about as many jobs (1,701) as working residents (1,559), but they are mostly different people: 1,452 residents leave for work each day while 1,594 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Watson Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Watson Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
40% of Watson Township works in Effingham
630 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Effingham, 5.4 miles away. That’s 6 times as many as work in Watson Township itself. The commute map ↓
Most Watson 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Watson Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Watson Township is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #503 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Watson Township’s grade up (6.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 25% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Watson Township could be anywhere from C− to A−.
In and out of Watson Township on a workday
On a workday 1,452 residents head out to work, 107 work right here, and 1,594 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 (1.09 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.
The daily trip from Watson Township: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watson Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,431 commuters (the 11% 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.
Commuting out of Watson Township: the destinations
Where Watson Township clocks in
40% 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 distance from Watson Township to work
About 27% 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 Watson Township’s employers do
1,701 jobs are based in Watson Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watson Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,292 → 1,701. 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 Watson Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Watson Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watson Township is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns, #757 of 768 in Illinois. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,602 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). 4.4% of Watson Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Watson Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300, Watson Township ranks 2,270th of 4,698 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,268 | Saranac NY | 3,791 | $83K | 12.2% | 0.7% | 3% | B− |
| 2,269 | Garner IA | 3,029 | $71K | 11.5% | 1.9% | 32% | B− |
| 2,270 | Watson Township IL | 3,176 | $77K | 6.8% | 4.0% | 7% | B− |
| 2,271 | Marlboro Township OH | 4,244 | $90K | 9.1% | 8.3% | 10% | B− |
| 2,272 | Sheffield Township OH | 3,925 | $48K | 16.5% | 1.9% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | 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 Watson Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Watson Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Teutopolis Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Watson Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watson Township | – | B− | D | 18 min | $77,209 |
| Union Township | under 1% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Jackson Township | under 1% | D | D− | 21 min | $72,560 |
| Bishop Township | under 1% | B− | B | 23 min | $84,231 |
| Teutopolis Township | 1% | A− | B | 16 min | $106,786 |
| Douglas Township | under 1% | B | B+ | 14 min | $74,666 |
| Watson | under 1% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| St. Francis Township | under 1% | B+ | C− | 18 min | $81,607 |
Same-state neighbors only. Union Township and Watson: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Watson 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 Watson Township: questions
What is the median household income in Watson Township?
$77,209 (±$10,189) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watson Township?
6.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watson Township?
18 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watson Township work?
7% work in town.
Is Watson Township walkable?
Watson Township is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watson 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 Watson Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watson 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.