Photo: Randy Escalada · CC BY-SA 2.0Des Plaines has 1.4 jobs for every working resident: 37,962 people commute in to work
Jobs & income A: better than 86% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #163 of 768 in Illinois.
Walkability A: more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns · #73 of 768 in Illinois.
Household incomes here are higher than in 75% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Des Plaines; the top destination outside it is Chicago (25%, 18 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.2 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Des Plaines
A lot of Des Plaines works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Des Plaines: Chicago (25%), Elk Grove Village (4%) and Mount Prospect (3%). Next door ↓
Des Plaines draws workers from far and wide
The 40,682 jobs in Des Plaines are filled from a wide area. Des Plaines’ own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 59% 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.
What’s behind Des Plaines’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Des Plaines is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #163 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, 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, Des Plaines could be anywhere from A− to A.
25% of working residents work in Chicago
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Des Plaines clocks in
25% 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.
Des Plaines fills up on a workday
On a workday 26,957 residents head out to work, 2,720 work right here, and 37,962 people come in from elsewhere.
About 70,000 people are in Des Plaines on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 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.
70% of the jobs in Des Plaines pay over $3,333 a month
40,682 jobs are based in Des Plaines. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Des Plaines’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Des Plaines, 2013 → 2023: 38,898 → 40,682. 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.
About 28 minutes each way, about the IL average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Des Plaines workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 25,661 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Des Plaines commutes less than 9 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Des Plaines is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Des Plaines is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #73 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Des Plaines 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 29,792 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 48% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 5.4% of Des Plaines households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Des Plaines’ commuters take a bus or train.
Des Plaines is 173rd of 749 U.S. towns of 41,000 to 79,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Des Plaines, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | New Trier Township IL | 56,118 | $216K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Vernon Township IL | 71,353 | $146K | 6.3% | 2.4% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | Coral Gables FL | 49,578 | $134K | 9.4% | 3.6% | 18% | A |
| 172 | Washington Township NJ | 49,840 | $114K | 5.5% | 4.5% | 13% | A |
| 173 | Des Plaines IL | 58,772 | $98K | 6.0% | 4.1% | 9% | A |
| 174 | Mentor OH | 47,010 | $89K | 5.2% | 2.9% | 24% | A |
| 175 | Prosper TX | 45,605 | $195K | 5.5% | 5.6% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 749 | 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.
36% of Des Plaines works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Chicago (25%). Darker towns draw more of Des Plaines’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Des Plaines workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Plaines | – | A | A | 28 min | $97,875 |
| Mount Prospect | 3% | A | A | 26 min | $101,720 |
| Maine Township | under 3% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $98,291 |
| Chicago | 25% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Rosemont | under 3% | B | A+ | 23 min | $63,517 |
| Elk Grove Township | under 3% | A− | A | 25 min | $88,801 |
| Park Ridge | 2% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $142,986 |
| Glenview | 2% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
| Northfield Township | under 3% | A | A+ | 27 min | $136,617 |
| Leyden Township | under 3% | B+ | A | 29 min | $79,935 |
| Elk Grove Village | 4% | A− | B+ | 26 min | $94,175 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Des Plaines: questions
What is the median household income in Des Plaines?
$97,875 (±$5,762) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Des Plaines?
6.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Des Plaines?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Des Plaines work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (25%, 18 mi), Elk Grove Village (4%, 5 mi), Schaumburg (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Des Plaines walkable?
Des Plaines is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Des Plaines without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 48% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Des Plaines, from the people who make the trip.
More of Des Plaines
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.