Unemployment in Boulder Hill (10.4%) is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Boulder Hill is better than 52% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). Hardly any stay in Boulder Hill for work; outside it, Aurora is the main destination (11%, 4 miles). Working residents average 27 minutes each way, about the same as across Illinois.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Boulder Hill
Why Boulder Hill gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Job access by car holds Boulder Hill’s grade up (ahead of 87% 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, Boulder Hill could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The daily flow of workers through Boulder Hill
On a workday 4,911 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 202 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Boulder Hill on a workday afternoon, 52% fewer than live here.
0.05 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 Boulder Hill goes to work
Where Boulder Hill clocks in
11% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Boulder Hill: what the 230 are
230 jobs are based in Boulder Hill.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boulder Hill, 2013 → 2023: 112 → 230. 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 Boulder Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from Boulder Hill
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boulder Hill workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,048 commuters (the 11% 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.
How many miles Boulder Hill commutes
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.
Most of Boulder Hill commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% 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 4,563 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.8% of Boulder Hill households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Boulder Hill’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Boulder Hill is 1,628th among 2,862 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,626 | Pecan Plantation TX | 6,452 | $105K | 3.5% | 19.2% | 7% | B− |
| 1,627 | Two Rivers WI | 11,222 | $57K | 11.8% | 1.7% | 20% | B− |
| 1,628 | Boulder Hill IL | 8,989 | $80K | 8.8% | 10.4% | 1% | B− |
| 1,629 | Birch Bay WA | 10,837 | $87K | 9.4% | 3.7% | 3% | B− |
| 1,630 | Springfield Township OH | 6,714 | $62K | 10.6% | 3.5% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,862 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Boulder Hill, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Boulder Hill and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Oswego (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boulder Hill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder Hill | – | B− | C− | 27 min | $80,377 |
| Oswego | 6% | A+ | B | 32 min | $123,792 |
| Montgomery | 2% | A− | C+ | 33 min | $103,734 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Boulder Hill’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 Boulder Hill: questions
What is the median household income in Boulder Hill?
$80,377 (±$7,541) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boulder Hill?
8.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boulder Hill?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boulder Hill work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aurora (11%, 4 mi), Chicago (11%, 35 mi), Naperville (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boulder Hill walkable?
Boulder Hill is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boulder Hill without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boulder Hill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boulder Hill
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.