Work & commute · Rock Island

Work & commute in Rock Island, IL

About one in 4 of Rock Island’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Davenport (17%), Moline (13%) and Milan (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

3,434 of 14,630 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,196 Rock Island residents head out of town to work, 3,434 work right here, and 14,656 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rock Island.

11,196live here, work elsewhere

3,434live and work here

14,656work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rock Island goes to work

Rock Island (in town)right here

23%3,434

Davenport, IA6.1 mi away

17%2,472

Moline4.8 mi away

13%1,929

Milan2.6 mi away

5%695

East Moline10.8 mi away

5%694

Bettendorf, IA8.8 mi away

4%521

Joslin19.5 mi away

2%321

Chicago151.9 mi away

2%294

Riverdale, IA7.9 mi away

1%162

Peoria70.7 mi away

1%149

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%3,959

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

How far

How far Rock Island commutes

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

72%

20%

72%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rock Island is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Rock Island are

18,090 jobs are based in Rock Island. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rock Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rock Island

18,090 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Rock Island residents hold

14,630 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+1%

Jobs based in Rock Island, 2013 → 2023: 17,829 → 18,090. 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.