Household incomes in Ela Township top those of 97% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 25% of workers, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole. 2.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.8% across Illinois. The two grades for Ela Township are A+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Ela Township
Ela Township trades workers with the towns around it
Ela Township has about as many jobs (22,845) as working residents (21,706), but they are mostly different people: 19,531 residents leave for work each day while 20,670 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Ela Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Ela Township draws workers from far and wide
The 22,845 jobs in Ela Township are filled from a wide area. Ela Township’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 17%; the other 73% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Ela Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ela Township is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (3,895) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Ela Township works from home
25% of Ela Township workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
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.
Why Ela Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ela Township is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #48 of 768 in Illinois. Household income is its strongest input ($173,916, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, 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, Ela Township could be anywhere from A to A+.
A workday in Ela Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 19,531 residents head out to work, 2,175 work right here, and 20,670 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 (1.05 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.
18% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Ela Township clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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.
Miles to work from Ela Township
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.
The daily trip from Ela Township: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ela Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,686 commuters (the 25% 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.
What Ela Township’s employers do
22,845 jobs are based in Ela Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ela Township, 2013 → 2023: 17,059 → 22,845. 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 Ela Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Ela Township, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ela Township is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #248 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Ela Township 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 23,491 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.0% of Ela Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Ela Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 32,000 to 63,000, Ela Township ranks 51st of 988 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| 4 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Ashburn VA | 46,026 | $155K | 4.0% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| 50 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 51 | Ela Township IL | 46,385 | $174K | 2.7% | 4.1% | 10% | A+ |
| 52 | Park Ridge IL | 38,463 | $143K | 2.9% | 4.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 53 | Oak Creek WI | 38,296 | $97K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 988 | 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 Ela Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Ela Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ela Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ela Township | – | A+ | A− | 31 min | $173,916 |
| Cuba Township | under 2% | A | A− | 32 min | $154,263 |
| Fremont Township | under 2% | A | B+ | 30 min | $120,182 |
| Hawthorn Woods | under 2% | A | A− | 40 min | $219,631 |
| Barrington | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $147,989 |
| Deer Park | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $174,458 |
| Vernon Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $145,857 |
| North Barrington | under 2% | A+ | A− | 33 min | $226,055 |
| Palatine Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $104,916 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ela Township’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 Ela Township: questions
What is the median household income in Ela Township?
$173,916 (±$8,389) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ela Township?
2.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ela Township?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ela Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (18%, 32 mi), Lake Zurich (6%, 1 mi), Schaumburg (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ela Township walkable?
Ela Township is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ela Township without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ela Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ela Township
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.