Photo: LonelyBeacon · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Alsip (8.9%) is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
7% of workers work from home (Illinois 16%). Alsip grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Alsip
A lot of Alsip works one town over
40% of working residents work in a town that borders Alsip: Chicago (33%), Oak Lawn (4%) and Crestwood (2%). Next door ↓
Alsip is where the jobs are
Alsip has 13,154 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Alsip draws workers from far and wide
The 13,154 jobs in Alsip are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 40%; the other 56% 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.
Jobs & income in Alsip: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alsip is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #543 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Alsip’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Alsip could be anywhere from C to B.
The daily commute in and out of Alsip
On a workday 7,719 residents head out to work, 494 work right here, and 12,660 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Alsip on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where the people who work in Alsip live
Where Alsip clocks in
33% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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.
In Alsip, 32% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
13,154 jobs are based in Alsip.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alsip, 2013 → 2023: 13,897 → 13,154. 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 Alsip’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes each way for Alsip’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alsip workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,849 commuters (the 7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Alsip
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.
Alsip is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alsip is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #87 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Alsip near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,464 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 79% 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). 5.6% of Alsip households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Alsip’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Alsip is 1,330th among 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,328 | Frankfort IN | 16,837 | $57K | 12.9% | 3.0% | 34% | C+ |
| 1,329 | Auburn IN | 14,068 | $69K | 9.8% | 5.9% | 22% | C+ |
| 1,330 | Alsip IL | 18,483 | $67K | 12.1% | 8.9% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,331 | West Columbia SC | 18,489 | $57K | 13.7% | 4.8% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,332 | Duchouquet Township OH | 14,357 | $69K | 11.6% | 4.3% | 20% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Alsip, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Alsip and its neighbors: 40% work next door
The biggest share goes to Chicago (33%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alsip workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alsip | – | C+ | A | 30 min | $66,585 |
| Blue Island | 1% | C | A+ | 29 min | $59,489 |
| Oak Lawn | 4% | B+ | A | 31 min | $83,911 |
| Crestwood | 2% | B− | A | 33 min | $75,752 |
| Worth Township | under 2% | B | A | 30 min | $77,966 |
| Chicago | 33% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alsip’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 Alsip: questions
What is the median household income in Alsip?
$66,585 (±$13,361) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alsip?
12.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alsip?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alsip work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (33%, 12 mi), Oak Lawn (4%, 3 mi), Orland Park (2%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Alsip walkable?
Alsip is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.4 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alsip without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alsip, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alsip
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.