Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Burbank works elsewhere
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. 4,603 jobs are based in Burbank, and 12,699 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Burbank are 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
Work in Burbank: the figures worth knowing
The four measures behind Burbank’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Burbank is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #484 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Burbank’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Burbank could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Burbank by day and by night
On a workday 12,120 residents head out to work, 579 work right here, and 4,024 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Burbank on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
33% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Burbank clocks in
33% 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.
The kinds of work in Burbank
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burbank, 2013 → 2023: 4,734 → 4,603. 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 Burbank’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Burbank: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burbank workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,593 commuters (the 7% 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.
Miles to work from Burbank
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.
Burbank is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burbank is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #117 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.4% 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 12,453 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, 67% 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). 5.8% of Burbank households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Burbank’s commuters take a bus or train.
Burbank next to U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000: 950th of 1,467 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 948 | Morgantown WV | 30,293 | $45K | 30.4% | 6.2% | 40% | B− |
| 949 | Fountain CO | 29,450 | $86K | 10.3% | 5.4% | 9% | B− |
| 950 | Burbank IL | 28,578 | $80K | 12.9% | 7.1% | 5% | B− |
| 951 | Vero Beach South FL | 30,344 | $73K | 9.1% | 3.8% | 7% | B− |
| 952 | Martinez GA | 33,750 | $82K | 10.0% | 6.1% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Burbank, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 44% of Burbank
The biggest share goes to Chicago (33%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burbank workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burbank | – | B− | A | 31 min | $80,116 |
| Bridgeview | 3% | C+ | A | 31 min | $66,655 |
| Bedford Park | 5% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Stickney Township | under 2% | B | A | 30 min | $78,454 |
| Chicago | 33% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Oak Lawn | 3% | B+ | A | 31 min | $83,911 |
Same-state neighbors only. Bedford Park: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burbank’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 Burbank: questions
What is the median household income in Burbank?
$80,116 (±$9,695) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burbank?
12.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burbank?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burbank work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (33%, 8 mi), Bedford Park (5%, 2 mi), Bridgeview (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burbank walkable?
Burbank is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burbank without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 67% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burbank, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burbank
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.