At 8.4%, unemployment in Beach Park is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. The two grades for Beach Park are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Only 2% stay in Beach Park for work; outside it, Waukegan is the main destination (16%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Beach Park in brief
Beach Park is a place people come home to
There are 930 jobs based in Beach Park, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Beach Park has about 9,200 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Beach Park and Waukegan trade workers both ways
Waukegan is the top workplace for Beach Park residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Beach Park come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Beach Park
59% of Beach Park residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Beach Park pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Beach Park’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Beach Park is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #462 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Beach Park’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Beach Park could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The daily commute in and out of Beach Park
On a workday 5,765 residents head out to work, 91 work right here, and 839 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,200 people are in Beach Park on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.16 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.
Where Beach Park goes to work
Where Beach Park clocks in
16% 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.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What work there is in Beach Park: 930 jobs
930 jobs are based in Beach Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Beach Park, 2013 → 2023: 816 → 930. 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 Beach Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way, about the IL average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Beach Park workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,786 commuters (the 10% 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.
The distance from Beach Park to work
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.
In Beach Park, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Beach Park is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #303 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Beach Park 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 6,440 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 46% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% 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). 2.9% of Beach Park households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Beach Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Beach Park ranks: 1,271st of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| 31 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,269 | Washington MO | 15,906 | $79K | 7.9% | 3.8% | 28% | B |
| 1,270 | Middleburg FL | 11,644 | $75K | 8.0% | 3.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,271 | Beach Park IL | 14,114 | $86K | 8.5% | 8.4% | 2% | B |
| 1,272 | Ionia MI | 12,208 | $64K | 12.0% | 1.9% | 17% | B |
| 1,273 | Troy MO | 15,201 | $79K | 13.6% | 2.3% | 14% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | 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 Beach Park, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Beach Park and its neighbors: 20% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Beach Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beach Park | – | B | A− | 28 min | $85,664 |
| Waukegan | 16% | C+ | A− | 26 min | $71,919 |
| Benton Township | under 3% | B− | B+ | 29 min | $82,995 |
| Zion | 4% | C+ | A− | 28 min | $63,104 |
| Zion Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Wadsworth | under 3% | B | C | 27 min | $142,738 |
| Waukegan Township | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Warren Township | under 3% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $104,155 |
| Newport Township | under 3% | B+ | B− | 27 min | $125,074 |
Same-state neighbors only. Zion Township and Waukegan Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Waukegan. Darker towns draw more of Beach Park’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 Beach Park: questions
What is the median household income in Beach Park?
$85,664 (±$9,566) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Beach Park?
8.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Beach Park?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Beach Park work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waukegan (16%, 5 mi), Chicago (7%, 43 mi), Gurnee (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Beach Park walkable?
Beach Park is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Beach Park without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Beach Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Beach Park
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.