Photo: Bnperdue2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Bolingbrook top those of 83% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. Below the poverty line: 9.2% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Bolingbrook grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook trades workers with the towns around it
Bolingbrook has about as many jobs (38,643) as working residents (35,341), but they are mostly different people: 31,348 residents leave for work each day while 34,650 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Bolingbrook are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Bolingbrook’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Bolingbrook is Chicago, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (6,079) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Bolingbrook are in trade, transport and utilities, against 26% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Bolingbrook
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bolingbrook is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #309 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Bolingbrook’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.7%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Bolingbrook could be anywhere from B to A−.
In and out of Bolingbrook on a workday
On a workday 31,348 residents head out to work, 3,993 work right here, and 34,650 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How far Bolingbrook goes 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.
Inside Bolingbrook’s 38,643 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bolingbrook, 2013 → 2023: 31,639 → 38,643. 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 Bolingbrook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
17% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Bolingbrook clocks in
17% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
About 30 minutes each way for Bolingbrook’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 Bolingbrook workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 31,982 commuters (the 17% 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.
In Bolingbrook, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bolingbrook is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #251 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.8% 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 38,730 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 39% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 59% 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). 3.3% of Bolingbrook households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bolingbrook’s commuters take a bus or train.
235th of 599: where Bolingbrook ranks among U.S. towns of 52,000 to 101,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | New Trier Township IL | 56,118 | $216K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Vernon Township IL | 71,353 | $146K | 6.3% | 2.4% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 233 | Norwalk CT | 94,508 | $108K | 9.1% | 5.2% | 22% | B+ |
| 234 | Fountain Valley CA | 55,508 | $115K | 8.0% | 5.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 235 | Bolingbrook IL | 74,803 | $108K | 9.2% | 5.7% | 11% | B+ |
| 236 | Hacienda Heights CA | 54,291 | $109K | 11.3% | 5.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 237 | Appleton WI | 75,452 | $80K | 8.3% | 3.5% | 25% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 599 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Bolingbrook, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 12% of Bolingbrook’s workers
The biggest share goes to Naperville (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bolingbrook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolingbrook | – | B+ | A− | 30 min | $108,400 |
| Woodridge | 2% | A | A | 30 min | $101,000 |
| Romeoville | 3% | A− | A− | 32 min | $106,325 |
| Naperville | 7% | A | A | 31 min | $155,105 |
| Plainfield | under 2% | A | B+ | 33 min | $144,000 |
| Du Page Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 30 min | $104,934 |
| Lisle Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $118,712 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bolingbrook’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 Bolingbrook: questions
What is the median household income in Bolingbrook?
$108,400 (±$6,252) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bolingbrook?
9.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bolingbrook?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bolingbrook work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 24 mi), Naperville (7%, 5 mi), Downers Grove (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bolingbrook walkable?
Bolingbrook is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bolingbrook without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bolingbrook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bolingbrook
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.