Photo: Cosmo1976 · Public domainCrystal Lake has higher household incomes than 83% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. 6.8% of residents are in poverty, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. For jobs and income Crystal Lake is better than 80% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Crystal Lake
Crystal Lake trades workers with the towns around it
Crystal Lake has about as many jobs (19,265) as working residents (20,078), but they are mostly different people: 17,274 residents leave for work each day while 16,461 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Crystal Lake are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Crystal Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Crystal Lake is Chicago, 43 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (2,368) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Crystal Lake draws workers from far and wide
The 19,265 jobs in Crystal Lake are filled from a wide area. Crystal Lake’s own residents hold 15% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 55% 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.
How Crystal Lake earns its Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($108,418, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Crystal Lake could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Crystal Lake by day and by night
On a workday 17,274 residents head out to work, 2,804 work right here, and 16,461 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 (0.96 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.
The commute from Crystal Lake, by distance
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.
12% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Crystal Lake clocks in
12% 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.
The 19,265 jobs based in Crystal Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Crystal Lake, 2013 → 2023: 18,127 → 19,265. 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 Crystal Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Crystal Lake, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Crystal Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,623 commuters (the 15% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Crystal Lake
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% 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 21,900 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 3.1% of Crystal Lake households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Crystal Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Crystal Lake is 350th of 994 U.S. towns of 30,000 to 57,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 348 | Oro Valley AZ | 48,085 | $107K | 6.5% | 2.3% | 12% | A− |
| 349 | Cypress CA | 48,781 | $130K | 6.6% | 5.4% | 6% | A− |
| 350 | Crystal Lake IL | 42,288 | $108K | 6.8% | 4.2% | 14% | A− |
| 351 | Ohio Township IN | 43,316 | $93K | 6.5% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| 352 | Shelton CT | 42,880 | $108K | 6.6% | 4.9% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 994 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Crystal Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Crystal Lake: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Cary (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Crystal Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Lake | – | A− | A− | 29 min | $108,418 |
| Lake in the Hills | 2% | A− | C+ | 32 min | $117,151 |
| Prairie Grove | under 2% | A | A− | 35 min | $141,389 |
| Lakewood | under 2% | A+ | B | 28 min | $173,625 |
| Ridgefield | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Cary | 3% | A− | A− | 28 min | $113,026 |
| Grafton Township | under 2% | A | B− | 31 min | $130,767 |
| Dorr Township | under 2% | A− | A | 25 min | $87,800 |
Same-state neighbors only. Ridgefield: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Crystal Lake’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 Crystal Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Crystal Lake?
$108,418 (±$6,406) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Crystal Lake?
6.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Crystal Lake?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Crystal Lake work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (12%, 43 mi), Elgin (4%, 13 mi), Schaumburg (3%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Crystal Lake walkable?
Crystal Lake is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Crystal Lake without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Crystal Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Crystal Lake
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.