Photo: Bnperdue2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0Darien has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.6 for each
5,799 jobs are based in Darien, against 10,457 working residents. The two grades for Darien are A for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Darien: the gist
Darien and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Darien residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Darien come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Darien draws workers from far and wide
The 5,799 jobs in Darien are filled from a wide area. Darien’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 58% 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.
Jobs & income in Darien: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Darien is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #82 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Darien could be anywhere from A− to A+.
23% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Darien clocks in
23% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Who leaves Darien for work, and who comes in
On a workday 10,019 residents head out to work, 438 work right here, and 5,361 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Darien on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer 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.
What Darien’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Darien, 2013 → 2023: 6,864 → 5,799. 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 Darien’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes each way for Darien’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Darien workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,978 commuters (the 20% 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.
The commute from Darien, 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.
Darien is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Darien is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #187 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Darien 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 11,291 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 40% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 7% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% 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). 3.7% of Darien households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Darien’s commuters take a bus or train.
Darien places 224th of 1,847 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 222 | Vienna VA | 16,691 | $217K | 5.0% | 4.4% | 6% | A |
| 223 | Frederick CO | 18,241 | $129K | 3.3% | 3.4% | 5% | A |
| 224 | Darien IL | 22,032 | $111K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 4% | A |
| 225 | Scituate MA | 19,662 | $137K | 2.9% | 3.5% | 13% | A |
| 226 | Pembroke MA | 18,492 | $146K | 4.0% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Darien, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work in the towns next to Darien
The biggest share goes to Downers Grove (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Darien workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | – | A | A | 29 min | $111,215 |
| Downers Grove | 4% | A | A+ | 28 min | $115,114 |
| Woodridge | 2% | A | A | 30 min | $101,000 |
| Willowbrook | under 2% | A− | A | 27 min | $99,239 |
| Westmont | 2% | A− | A | 27 min | $88,090 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Darien’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 Darien: questions
What is the median household income in Darien?
$111,215 (±$8,951) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Darien?
4.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Darien?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Darien work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (23%, 16 mi), Downers Grove (4%, 4 mi), Naperville (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Darien walkable?
Darien is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Darien without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 7% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Darien, from the people who make the trip.
More of Darien
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.