Photo: File:Chicago River ferry.jpg: John Picken derivative work: Georgfotoart · CC BY 2.0At 8.0%, unemployment in Chicago is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 33 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). The two grades for Chicago are B− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. About two in three work in Chicago itself; outside it, Evanston draws the most (1%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Chicago apart on work
Most jobs in Chicago go to people who live here
Of the 1,359,301 jobs based in Chicago, 53% are held by Chicago residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Chicago’s working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 33 minutes, longer than the Illinois average of 28. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind Chicago’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chicago is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #523 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Chicago’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
The Illinois figures include the city itself, home to 22% of the state’s residents, so the city and state figures are partly the same people.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chicago could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
How a workday changes Chicago
On a workday 398,443 residents head out to work, 715,474 work right here, and 643,827 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 (1.22 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.
From Chicago, about 33 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chicago workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,078,013 commuters (the 21% 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.
Where Chicago goes to work
Where Chicago clocks in
1% of workers
1% of workers
1% 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.
71% of the jobs in Chicago pay over $3,333 a month
1,359,301 jobs are based in Chicago.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chicago, 2013 → 2023: 1,213,380 → 1,359,301. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Chicago commutes less than 7 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.
Chicago is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chicago is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #4 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Chicago 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 1,364,366 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, 87% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 36.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 26.6% of Chicago households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 22% of Chicago’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Around Chicago: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chicago workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | – | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Leyden Township | under 1% | B+ | A | 29 min | $79,935 |
| Maine Township | under 1% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $98,291 |
| Rosemont | 1% | B | A+ | 23 min | $63,517 |
| Worth Township | under 1% | B | A | 30 min | $77,966 |
| Schiller Park | under 1% | A | A | 25 min | $69,696 |
| Niles Township | under 1% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $97,280 |
| Stickney Township | under 1% | B | A | 30 min | $78,454 |
| Calumet Township | under 1% | C− | A+ | 33 min | $49,861 |
| Park Ridge | under 1% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $142,986 |
| Elk Grove Township | under 1% | A− | A | 25 min | $88,801 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rosemont. Darker towns draw more of Chicago’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: questions
What is the median household income in Chicago?
$77,902 (±$907) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chicago?
16.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chicago?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chicago work?
64% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Evanston (1%, 14 mi), Skokie (1%, 14 mi), Schaumburg (1%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chicago walkable?
Chicago is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.6 out of 20, and 32% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chicago without a car?
22% of commuters take transit and 27% of households have no car. 87% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chicago, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chicago
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.