A job hub: Countryside has 2.2 jobs per working resident, and 5,997 people come in to work
Employers in Countryside report 6,110 jobs for 2,816 working residents. Countryside grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.2 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
Countryside and work: the main findings
Countryside is where the jobs are
Countryside has 6,110 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,600 people are in town, 53% more than the 6,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
Countryside and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Countryside residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Countryside come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Countryside draws workers from far and wide
The 6,110 jobs in Countryside are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 32%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Countryside’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Countryside is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #420 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Countryside’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Countryside could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
How a workday changes Countryside
On a workday 2,703 residents head out to work and 113 work right here.
About 9,600 people are in Countryside on a workday afternoon, 53% more 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.
The daily trip into Countryside
Where Countryside clocks in
27% of workers
4% 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.
What Countryside’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Countryside, 2013 → 2023: 6,320 → 6,110. 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 Countryside’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Countryside, about 25 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Countryside workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,565 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Countryside
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Countryside
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Countryside is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #171 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.8% 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 3,184 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, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 2.2% of Countryside households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Countryside’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Countryside is 1,526th among 3,349 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 13 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,524 | La Salle Township MI | 4,591 | $86K | 9.7% | 4.5% | 1% | B |
| 1,525 | Walnut Township OH | 7,051 | $75K | 6.4% | 5.0% | 6% | B |
| 1,526 | Countryside IL | 6,260 | $81K | 10.0% | 6.6% | 4% | B |
| 1,527 | Ottawa OH | 4,437 | $70K | 8.6% | 1.7% | 25% | B |
| 1,528 | Bellevue PA | 7,888 | $69K | 9.4% | 4.7% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Countryside, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Countryside and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to La Grange (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Countryside workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countryside | – | B | A | 25 min | $80,968 |
| Hodgkins | 2% | B− | B | 17 min | $62,417 |
| La Grange | 4% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $159,929 |
| Indian Head Park | under 2% | B+ | A | 30 min | $100,149 |
| Burr Ridge | 2% | A+ | A | 29 min | $156,829 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Countryside’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 Countryside: questions
What is the median household income in Countryside?
$80,968 (±$7,115) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Countryside?
10.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Countryside?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Countryside work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (27%, 11 mi), La Grange (4%, 2 mi), Downers Grove (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Countryside walkable?
Countryside is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Countryside without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Countryside, from the people who make the trip.
More of Countryside
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.