Work & commute · Lancaster

Work & commute in Lancaster, IL

Most working residents leave Lancaster for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Freeport (26%), Rockford (10%) and Monroe (4%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15 of 644 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 629 Lancaster residents head out of town to work, 15 work right here, and 492 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lancaster.

629live here, work elsewhere

15live and work here

492work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lancaster goes to work

Freeport4.7 mi away

26%166

Rockford26.4 mi away

10%63

Monroe, WI18.7 mi away

4%23

Chicago102.6 mi away

3%22

Loves Park29.1 mi away

3%17

German Valley9.5 mi away

2%13

Lancaster (in town)right here

2%13

Forreston14.5 mi away

2%11

Belvidere35.2 mi away

1%9

Silver Creek6.4 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%298

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Lancaster commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

35%

18%

20%

27%

35%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lancaster is balanced between jobs and homes

0.79jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lancaster are

507 jobs are based in Lancaster. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lancaster

507 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)78%

Trade, transport & utilities3%

Services (health, schools, offices…)19%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month8%

Over $3,333 a month85%

Jobs Lancaster residents hold

644 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

−51%

Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 1,032 → 507. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.