Photo: bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0Carol Stream’s household incomes are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
Carol Stream grades A for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The poverty rate is 6.4% (Illinois 11.8%). For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Carol Stream apart
Carol Stream trades workers with the towns around it
Carol Stream has about as many jobs (20,979) as working residents (20,395), but they are mostly different people: 18,800 residents leave for work each day while 19,384 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Carol Stream are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Carol Stream draws workers from far and wide
The 20,979 jobs in Carol Stream are filled from a wide area. Carol Stream’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Carol Stream’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Carol Stream is Chicago, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (2,871) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 Carol Stream’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carol Stream is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #159 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, 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, Carol Stream could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Carol Stream
On a workday 18,800 residents head out to work, 1,595 work right here, and 19,384 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 (1.03 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.
14% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Carol Stream clocks in
14% of workers
4% 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.
How far Carol Stream 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.
67% of the jobs in Carol Stream pay over $3,333 a month
20,979 jobs are based in Carol Stream.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carol Stream, 2013 → 2023: 18,816 → 20,979. 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 Carol Stream’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way for Carol Stream’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carol Stream workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,792 commuters (the 15% 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.
Carol Stream 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, Carol Stream is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #259 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% 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 20,893 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 42% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 7.2% of Carol Stream households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Carol Stream’s commuters take a bus or train.
Carol Stream next to U.S. towns of 28,000 to 53,000: 243rd of 1,064 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 241 | Newington CT | 31,647 | $103K | 6.4% | 3.6% | 11% | A |
| 242 | Guilderland NY | 38,216 | $112K | 5.9% | 3.2% | 11% | A |
| 243 | Carol Stream IL | 39,315 | $102K | 6.4% | 3.9% | 8% | A |
| 244 | Wallingford CT | 44,406 | $105K | 5.4% | 3.9% | 21% | A |
| 245 | Temescal Valley CA | 30,069 | $122K | 4.5% | 4.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,064 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Carol Stream, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Carol Stream and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Bloomingdale (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carol Stream workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carol Stream | – | A | A− | 28 min | $102,309 |
| Glendale Heights | 2% | B | A− | 27 min | $86,545 |
| Bloomingdale Township | under 3% | B+ | A− | 26 min | $99,020 |
| Winfield | under 3% | A | A | 29 min | $135,795 |
| Wayne Township | under 3% | A | B | 29 min | $136,513 |
| Hanover Park | under 3% | B+ | A− | 29 min | $91,763 |
| Wheaton | 3% | A | A+ | 26 min | $120,008 |
| Bloomingdale | 4% | A | A− | 27 min | $102,928 |
| Glen Ellyn | under 3% | A | A+ | 29 min | $140,938 |
| Bartlett | under 3% | A+ | B | 30 min | $133,240 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Carol Stream’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 Carol Stream: questions
What is the median household income in Carol Stream?
$102,309 (±$6,108) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carol Stream?
6.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carol Stream?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carol Stream work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (14%, 24 mi), Bloomingdale (4%, 3 mi), Schaumburg (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carol Stream walkable?
Carol Stream is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carol Stream without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carol Stream, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carol Stream
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.