Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0Algonquin’s household incomes are higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A: better than 90% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #119 of 768 in Illinois.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns · #381 of 768 in Illinois.
Working residents average 31 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). Only 4% work in Algonquin; the top destination outside it is Chicago (12%, 40 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Algonquin
Algonquin’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Algonquin is Chicago, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,709) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Algonquin
67% of Algonquin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Algonquin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Algonquin are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Algonquin pay little
26% of the jobs based in Algonquin pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 34% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Algonquin draws workers from far and wide
The 7,041 jobs in Algonquin are filled from a wide area. Algonquin’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 37%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Algonquin’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Algonquin is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #119 of 768 in Illinois. Household income is its strongest input ($134,525, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Algonquin could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Half of Algonquin commutes less than 18 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
What the 7,041 jobs in Algonquin are
7,041 jobs are based in Algonquin. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Algonquin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Algonquin, 2013 → 2023: 6,737 → 7,041. 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.
12% of working residents work in Chicago
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Algonquin clocks in
12% of workers
7% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Algonquin quiets down on a workday
On a workday 13,746 residents head out to work, 594 work right here, and 6,447 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in Algonquin on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Algonquin workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,784 commuters (the 23% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Most trips from Algonquin start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Algonquin is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #381 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.7% of 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 16,629 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 11% 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% 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). 6.1% of Algonquin households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Algonquin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Algonquin is 239th of 1,334 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Algonquin, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 237 | Randolph Township NJ | 26,878 | $175K | 5.4% | 4.5% | 8% | A |
| 238 | St. Charles IL | 33,594 | $114K | 4.4% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| 239 | Algonquin IL | 30,824 | $135K | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| 240 | Harrison NY | 32,273 | $164K | 4.1% | 5.5% | 10% | A |
| 241 | Andover MA | 37,014 | $173K | 2.9% | 5.6% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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.
Algonquin and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Carpentersville (4%). Darker towns draw more of Algonquin’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Algonquin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algonquin | – | A | B+ | 31 min | $134,525 |
| Lake in the Hills | under 2% | A− | C+ | 32 min | $117,151 |
| Cary | under 2% | A− | A− | 28 min | $113,026 |
| Carpentersville | 4% | B | B+ | 28 min | $86,917 |
| Barrington Hills | under 2% | A | A− | 30 min | $205,074 |
| Rutland Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 30 min | $105,703 |
| Grafton Township | under 2% | A | B− | 31 min | $130,767 |
| Dundee Township | under 2% | A− | B+ | 29 min | $98,089 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Algonquin: questions
What is the median household income in Algonquin?
$134,525 (±$8,076) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Algonquin?
4.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Algonquin?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Algonquin work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (12%, 40 mi), Elgin (7%, 8 mi), Schaumburg (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Algonquin walkable?
Algonquin is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Algonquin without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Algonquin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Algonquin
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.