Grossdale Station · Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Brookfield has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns. 3,278 jobs are based in Brookfield; 9,686 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Brookfield A; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Brookfield apart on work
Brookfield and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Brookfield residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Brookfield come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Brookfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Brookfield empties out on a workday
About 12,000 people are in Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than the 19,000 who live here: 9,300 head out to work and 2,900 come in. Day and night ↓
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: Brookfield’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brookfield is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #77 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brookfield could be anywhere from A− to A+.
32% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Brookfield clocks in
32% of workers
2% 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.
Time on the road from Brookfield: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brookfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,107 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.
Who leaves Brookfield for work, and who comes in
On a workday 9,305 residents head out to work, 381 work right here, and 2,897 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Brookfield on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Brookfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brookfield, 2013 → 2023: 3,525 → 3,278. 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 Brookfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Brookfield 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.
Brookfield 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, Brookfield is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #23 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Brookfield 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 9,782 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 57% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 4.4% of Brookfield households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Brookfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brookfield next to U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000: 217th of 1,915 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 215 | Ham Lake MN | 17,104 | $120K | 4.0% | 3.4% | 6% | A |
| 216 | La Cañada Flintridge CA | 19,480 | $242K | 3.5% | 5.0% | 6% | A |
| 217 | Brookfield IL | 18,879 | $110K | 5.4% | 3.3% | 4% | A |
| 218 | Webster Groves MO | 23,450 | $115K | 4.2% | 3.7% | 7% | A |
| 219 | Wilton CT | 19,435 | $242K | 2.4% | 4.4% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Brookfield, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Brookfield: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to La Grange Park (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brookfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | – | A | A+ | 33 min | $110,295 |
| Lyons | under 2% | B | A+ | 28 min | $70,993 |
| La Grange Park | 1% | A | A+ | 29 min | $120,408 |
| Riverside | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $153,686 |
| North Riverside | under 2% | A− | A | 29 min | $77,170 |
| Riverside Township | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $121,944 |
| Lyons Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $92,619 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brookfield’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 Brookfield: questions
What is the median household income in Brookfield?
$110,295 (±$11,060) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brookfield?
5.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brookfield?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brookfield work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (32%, 8 mi), La Grange (2%, 2 mi), Downers Grove (2%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brookfield walkable?
Brookfield is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.2 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brookfield without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 57% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brookfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brookfield
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.