Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Elgin Township, IL
Working residents average 28 minutes each way, about the same as across Illinois. About one in five work in Elgin Township itself; outside it, Elgin draws the most (21%, 1 miles). 40,781 jobs are based in Elgin Township for 47,651 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Elgin Township in brief
Elgin Township trades workers with the towns around it
Elgin Township has about as many jobs (40,781) as working residents (47,651), but they are mostly different people: 38,654 residents leave for work each day while 31,784 people come in. Only 22% of the jobs in Elgin Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Elgin Township and Elgin trade workers both ways
Elgin is the top workplace for Elgin Township residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Elgin Township come from (22% of its jobs). 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 a workday changes Elgin Township
On a workday 38,654 residents head out to work, 8,997 work right here, and 31,784 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 (0.86 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.
Commuting out of Elgin Township: the destinations
Where Elgin Township clocks in
21% of workers
9% 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.
What Elgin Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elgin Township, 2013 → 2023: 41,829 → 40,781. 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 Elgin Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes to work from Elgin Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elgin Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 46,092 commuters (the 12% 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.
How far Elgin Township goes to work
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.
Bordering towns draw 24% of Elgin Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elgin Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin Township | – | — | — | 28 min | $92,771 |
| St. Charles Township | under 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $128,204 |
| Plato Township | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 35 min | $154,851 |
| Elgin | 21% | B | A | 28 min | $90,282 |
| Dundee Township | under 2% | A− | B+ | 29 min | $98,089 |
| South Elgin | 3% | A | B+ | 28 min | $127,203 |
| Hanover Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 30 min | $99,697 |
| Rutland Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 30 min | $105,703 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Elgin. Darker towns draw more of Elgin 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 Elgin Township: questions
What is the median household income in Elgin Township?
$92,771 (±$3,703) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elgin Township?
9.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elgin Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elgin Township work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elgin (21%, 1 mi), Chicago (9%, 35 mi), Schaumburg (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Elgin Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elgin Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elgin 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.