Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0At 14.6%, unemployment in Chicago Heights is among the highest of any U.S. town
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Jobs and income earn Chicago Heights C−; getting around on foot earns it A. Measured by household income, Chicago Heights is behind 81% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Chicago Heights, in a few figures
Chicago Heights’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Chicago Heights is Chicago, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 23% of working residents (2,494) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Chicago Heights draws workers from far and wide
The 8,313 jobs in Chicago Heights are filled from a wide area. Chicago Heights’ own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Chicago Heights than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Chicago Heights fell from 11,578 in 2013 to 8,313 in 2023, −28%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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.
How Chicago Heights earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chicago Heights is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #692 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Chicago Heights’ grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chicago Heights could be anywhere from C− to C.
Half of Chicago Heights commutes less than 18 miles
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.
23% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Chicago Heights clocks in
23% 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.
66% of the jobs in Chicago Heights pay over $3,333 a month
8,313 jobs are based in Chicago Heights.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chicago Heights, 2013 → 2023: 11,578 → 8,313. 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 Chicago Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Chicago Heights, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 9,806 residents head out to work, 947 work right here, and 7,366 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 (0.77 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.
Commuting from Chicago Heights: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chicago Heights workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,455 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Chicago Heights
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chicago Heights is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #109 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Chicago Heights 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 10,136 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 81% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 9.9% of Chicago Heights households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Chicago Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
Chicago Heights next to U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000
| # | 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 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,338 | Chalmette LA | 22,616 | $55K | 24.9% | 9.0% | 16% | C− |
| 1,339 | Alamo TX | 20,625 | $57K | 25.3% | 9.4% | 6% | C− |
| 1,340 | Chicago Heights IL | 26,508 | $55K | 26.9% | 14.6% | 9% | C− |
| 1,341 | Michigan Township IN | 26,881 | $58K | 17.8% | 9.7% | 23% | C− |
| 1,342 | Radcliff KY | 22,576 | $59K | 15.9% | 9.3% | 10% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Chicago Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Chicago Heights: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Olympia Fields (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chicago Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Heights | – | C− | A | 30 min | $54,798 |
| Glenwood | under 2% | B− | A | 30 min | $77,391 |
| South Chicago Heights | under 2% | C | A | 21 min | $58,691 |
| Olympia Fields | 2% | B+ | A+ | 43 min | $123,875 |
| Flossmoor | 1% | A− | A | 33 min | $133,663 |
| Park Forest | under 2% | C | A | 32 min | $61,072 |
| Steger | under 2% | B− | A | 32 min | $66,575 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chicago Heights’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 Chicago Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Chicago Heights?
$54,798 (±$6,131) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chicago Heights?
26.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chicago Heights?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chicago Heights work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (23%, 23 mi), Homewood (2%, 4 mi), Matteson (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chicago Heights walkable?
Chicago Heights is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.4 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chicago Heights without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chicago Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chicago Heights
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.