Photo: Cosmo1976 · Public domainCary’s household incomes are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 4.8% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. The two grades for Cary are A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.3 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
Where Cary stands out on work
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Cary
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cary is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #200 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Cary’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, 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, Cary could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How far it is to work from Cary
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.
Cary on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,355 residents head out to work, 765 work right here, and 5,854 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Cary on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
13% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Cary clocks in
13% of workers
7% 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.
Cary works in goods: 28% of its jobs
6,619 jobs are based in Cary.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cary, 2013 → 2023: 5,179 → 6,619. 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 Cary’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Cary: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cary workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,177 commuters (the 19% 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.
Cary 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, Cary is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #220 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Cary 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 10,064 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 22% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 2.8% of Cary households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Cary’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,822 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000, Cary comes 502nd 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 500 | Rockland MA | 17,949 | $112K | 6.5% | 4.4% | 9% | A− |
| 501 | Fairfield Township OH | 23,392 | $108K | 4.7% | 4.6% | 3% | A− |
| 502 | Cary IL | 17,932 | $113K | 4.8% | 5.0% | 8% | A− |
| 503 | Wood Dale IL | 14,081 | $91K | 6.7% | 4.0% | 6% | A− |
| 504 | North Whitehall Township PA | 16,033 | $110K | 5.4% | 4.2% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | 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 Cary, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Cary compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Crystal Lake (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cary workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cary | – | A− | A− | 28 min | $113,026 |
| Trout Valley | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Lake in the Hills | under 2% | A− | C+ | 32 min | $117,151 |
| Algonquin | under 2% | A | B+ | 31 min | $134,525 |
| Crystal Lake | 7% | A− | A− | 29 min | $108,418 |
| Fox River Grove | under 2% | A | A | 33 min | $121,506 |
Same-state neighbors only. Trout Valley: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cary’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 Cary: questions
What is the median household income in Cary?
$113,026 (±$10,663) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cary?
4.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cary?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cary work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (13%, 39 mi), Crystal Lake (7%, 4 mi), Schaumburg (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cary walkable?
Cary is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cary without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cary, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cary
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.