Households in Crete have higher incomes than those in 75% of U.S. towns
3.9% of residents are in poverty, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. The two grades for Crete are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Only 5% stay in Crete for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (16%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Crete
Crete workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Crete’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Crete is Chicago, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (592) 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.
The four measures behind Crete’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Crete is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #267 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate holds Crete’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (6.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Crete could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily trip from Crete: about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Crete workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,570 commuters (the 11% 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 Crete
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.
Crete on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,551 residents head out to work, 175 work right here, and 2,587 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,400 people are in Crete on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
The towns that employ Crete’s residents
Where Crete clocks in
16% 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 Crete’s employers do
2,762 jobs are based in Crete.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Crete, 2013 → 2023: 2,449 → 2,762. 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 Crete’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Crete commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Crete is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #350 of 768 in Illinois. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,996 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 13% 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 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). 1.9% of Crete households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Crete’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,300, Crete ranks 881st of 3,042 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 879 | Addison Township MI | 6,321 | $111K | 5.2% | 4.5% | 4% | A− |
| 880 | Topanga CA | 8,885 | $157K | 6.0% | 7.1% | 5% | A− |
| 881 | Crete IL | 8,345 | $97K | 3.9% | 6.0% | 5% | A− |
| 882 | Bridgeport TX | 6,915 | $96K | 2.1% | 3.9% | 18% | A− |
| 883 | Sumner WA | 10,871 | $98K | 4.9% | 5.3% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,042 | 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 Crete, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Crete
The biggest share goes to University Park (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Crete workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crete | – | A− | B+ | 38 min | $97,147 |
| Steger | under 2% | B− | A | 32 min | $66,575 |
| University Park | 2% | C+ | A− | 39 min | $73,844 |
| Goodenow | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Crete Township | under 2% | B | B+ | 36 min | $80,482 |
| Bloom Township | under 2% | C+ | A | 33 min | $73,530 |
Same-state neighbors only. Goodenow: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Crete’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 Crete: questions
What is the median household income in Crete?
$97,147 (±$15,381) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Crete?
3.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Crete?
38 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Crete work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (16%, 28 mi), Chicago Heights (3%, 5 mi), University Park (2%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Crete walkable?
Crete is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Crete without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Crete, from the people who make the trip.
More of Crete
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.