Photo: Downtowngal · CC BY-SA 4.0Elk Grove Township draws 80,808 commuters a day, with 2.0 jobs for every working resident
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. 86,825 jobs are based in Elk Grove Township, and 43,053 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Elk Grove Township A−; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Elk Grove Township and work: the main findings
Elk Grove Township is where the jobs are
Elk Grove Township has 86,825 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 137,000 people are in town, 47% more than the 93,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Elk Grove Township and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Elk Grove Township residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Elk Grove Township come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Elk Grove Township draws workers from far and wide
The 86,825 jobs in Elk Grove Township are filled from a wide area. Elk Grove Township’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The biggest group of Elk Grove Township’s workers comes from Chicago
13,313 of the people who work in Elk Grove Township live in Chicago, 20 miles away, more than from any other town. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Elk Grove Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elk Grove Township is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #249 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 (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, Elk Grove Township could be anywhere from B+ to A.
How many people are in Elk Grove Township by day
On a workday 37,036 residents head out to work and 6,017 work right here.
About 137,000 people are in Elk Grove Township on a workday afternoon, 47% more 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.
Where Elk Grove Township’s workforce comes from
Where Elk Grove Township clocks in
18% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
69% of the jobs in Elk Grove Township pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk Grove Township, 2013 → 2023: 80,951 → 86,825. 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 Elk Grove Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Elk Grove Township: about 25 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk Grove Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 40,326 commuters (the 16% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Elk Grove 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Elk Grove Township
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elk Grove Township is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #182 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 47,864 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 6.2% of Elk Grove Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Elk Grove Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elk Grove Township is 128th of 489 U.S. towns of 65,000 to 126,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Vernon Township IL | 71,353 | $146K | 6.3% | 2.4% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Arlington Heights IL | 76,216 | $117K | 6.0% | 3.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | West Bloomfield Township MI | 66,049 | $125K | 6.7% | 5.6% | 6% | A− |
| 127 | Daly City CA | 101,261 | $124K | 7.7% | 5.3% | 7% | A− |
| 128 | Elk Grove Township IL | 93,072 | $89K | 8.1% | 3.9% | 14% | A− |
| 129 | Woodbridge Township NJ | 104,802 | $109K | 8.4% | 4.9% | 13% | A− |
| 130 | Commerce City CO | 72,345 | $112K | 8.7% | 4.3% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 489 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Elk Grove Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
29% of Elk Grove Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Chicago (18%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elk Grove Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Grove Township | – | A− | A | 25 min | $88,801 |
| Chicago | 18% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Schaumburg Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $99,298 |
| Elk Grove Village | 7% | A− | B+ | 26 min | $94,175 |
| Des Plaines | 4% | A | A | 28 min | $97,875 |
| Maine Township | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $98,291 |
| Addison Township | under 2% | A− | A | 26 min | $90,991 |
| Itasca | under 2% | A+ | A | 26 min | $114,294 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elk Grove 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 Elk Grove Township: questions
What is the median household income in Elk Grove Township?
$88,801 (±$3,982) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk Grove Township?
8.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk Grove Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk Grove Township work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (18%, 20 mi), Elk Grove Village (7%, 2 mi), Arlington Heights (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elk Grove Township walkable?
Elk Grove Township is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elk Grove Township without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elk Grove Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk Grove 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.