Berkeley has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B+: better than 66% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #366 of 768 in Illinois.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns · #403 of 768 in Illinois.
Household incomes here are higher than in 63% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). Only 2% work in Berkeley; the top destination outside it is Chicago (27%, 12 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 Berkeley
Berkeley makes and builds things
49% of the jobs based in Berkeley are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Berkeley residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Berkeley and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Berkeley residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Berkeley come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Berkeley than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Berkeley fell from 1,633 in 2013 to 1,185 in 2023, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
What’s behind Berkeley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Berkeley is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #366 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Berkeley’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (17.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Berkeley could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
Berkeley makes things: 49% of its jobs are in goods
1,185 jobs are based in Berkeley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Berkeley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berkeley, 2013 → 2023: 1,633 → 1,185. 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.
27% 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 Berkeley clocks in
27% of workers
3% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Berkeley quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,260 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 1,149 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Berkeley on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.52 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 28 minutes each way, about the IL average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berkeley workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,124 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Berkeley commutes less than 10 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.
Most trips from Berkeley start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Berkeley is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #403 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 2,483 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 7.7% of Berkeley households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Berkeley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Berkeley is 1,339th of 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Berkeley, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,337 | Greenacres CA | 4,906 | $92K | 4.1% | 8.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,338 | Rigby ID | 5,757 | $85K | 9.7% | 2.2% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,339 | Berkeley IL | 5,141 | $86K | 17.5% | 3.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,340 | Platte City MO | 4,911 | $71K | 10.3% | 2.9% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,341 | Peshtigo WI | 4,087 | $81K | 5.0% | 2.2% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
Berkeley and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Melrose Park (3%). Darker towns draw more of Berkeley’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Berkeley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | – | B+ | B+ | 28 min | $85,823 |
| Hillside | under 2% | A− | A+ | 29 min | $72,320 |
| Bellwood | under 2% | B | A+ | 28 min | $79,513 |
| Northlake | 2% | B | A | 29 min | $83,892 |
| Melrose Park | 3% | B− | A | 27 min | $66,189 |
| Proviso Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $82,097 |
| York Township | under 2% | A− | A | 27 min | $112,233 |
| Elmhurst | 3% | A | A+ | 29 min | $149,644 |
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 Berkeley: questions
What is the median household income in Berkeley?
$85,823 (±$13,510) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berkeley?
17.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berkeley?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berkeley work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (27%, 12 mi), Elmhurst (3%, 2 mi), Oak Brook (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Berkeley walkable?
Berkeley is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berkeley without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berkeley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berkeley
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.