Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Dolton has higher unemployment (12.8%) than 98% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 77% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Dolton C; getting around on foot earns it A+. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Dolton, in a few figures
The four measures behind Dolton’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dolton is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #658 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Dolton’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dolton could be anywhere from C− to C.
Dolton on a workday afternoon
On a workday 7,440 residents head out to work, 193 work right here, and 2,658 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Dolton on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.37 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.
37% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Dolton clocks in
37% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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.
Jobs in Dolton: what the 2,851 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dolton, 2013 → 2023: 3,009 → 2,851. 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 Dolton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Dolton, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dolton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,083 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.
Where in the region Dolton works
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Dolton
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dolton is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #50 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Dolton 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 7,962 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 85% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 13.6% of Dolton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 9% of Dolton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Dolton is 1,641st of 1,931 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 28,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,639 | Milford DE | 14,723 | $59K | 17.2% | 5.1% | 22% | C |
| 1,640 | Holiday FL | 22,785 | $48K | 19.3% | 4.8% | 3% | C |
| 1,641 | Dolton IL | 20,671 | $58K | 21.7% | 12.8% | 3% | C |
| 1,642 | Thibodaux LA | 15,573 | $52K | 19.6% | 4.3% | 24% | C |
| 1,643 | Scottsboro AL | 16,123 | $54K | 18.6% | 3.5% | 43% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,931 | 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 Dolton, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 44% of Dolton’s workers
The biggest share goes to Chicago (37%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dolton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolton | – | C | A+ | 31 min | $57,887 |
| South Holland | 3% | B− | A | 34 min | $85,280 |
| Calumet City | 2% | C− | A+ | 34 min | $55,369 |
| Harvey | 2% | C− | A+ | 30 min | $42,429 |
| Riverdale | under 2% | C− | A+ | 34 min | $39,833 |
| Chicago | 37% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dolton’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 Dolton: questions
What is the median household income in Dolton?
$57,887 (±$5,078) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dolton?
21.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dolton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dolton work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (37%, 15 mi), South Holland (3%, 2 mi), Harvey (2%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dolton walkable?
Dolton is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dolton without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dolton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dolton
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.