Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Elmhurst are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. 3.3% of residents are in poverty (Illinois 11.8%). Jobs and income earn Elmhurst 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
The work figures that set Elmhurst apart
Elmhurst and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Elmhurst residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Elmhurst come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Elmhurst is where the jobs are
Elmhurst has 30,560 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Elmhurst draws workers from far and wide
The 30,560 jobs in Elmhurst are filled from a wide area. Elmhurst’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Elmhurst
27% of Elmhurst 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Elmhurst
Job access by car holds Elmhurst’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Elmhurst could be anywhere from A to A+.
Commuting in to Elmhurst: where workers come from
Where Elmhurst clocks in
21% 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.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Who commutes out of Elmhurst, and who commutes in
On a workday 17,866 residents head out to work, 2,320 work right here, and 28,240 people come in from elsewhere.
About 56,000 people are in Elmhurst on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting from Elmhurst: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elmhurst workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,500 commuters (the 27% 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.
66% of the jobs in Elmhurst pay over $3,333 a month
30,560 jobs are based in Elmhurst.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elmhurst, 2013 → 2023: 26,585 → 30,560. 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 Elmhurst’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Elmhurst 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Elmhurst
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elmhurst is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #29 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Elmhurst 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 22,456 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 81% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 4.7% of Elmhurst households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 12% of Elmhurst’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Elmhurst is 59th of 969 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 62,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Westerville OH | 38,165 | $109K | 5.6% | 2.2% | 11% | A+ |
| 58 | Kaysville UT | 33,307 | $133K | 3.4% | 2.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 59 | Elmhurst IL | 46,111 | $150K | 3.3% | 4.3% | 11% | A |
| 60 | Princeton TX | 43,524 | $105K | 4.1% | 2.5% | 5% | A |
| 61 | Menomonee Falls WI | 41,291 | $100K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 969 | 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 Elmhurst, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work in the towns next to Elmhurst
The biggest share goes to Oak Brook (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elmhurst workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmhurst | – | A | A+ | 29 min | $149,644 |
| Villa Park | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $95,015 |
| Oakbrook Terrace | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $76,905 |
| Addison | 2% | B+ | A− | 26 min | $90,431 |
| York Township | under 2% | A− | A | 27 min | $112,233 |
| Proviso Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $82,097 |
| Berkeley | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 28 min | $85,823 |
| Northlake | under 2% | B | A | 29 min | $83,892 |
| Oak Brook | 4% | A− | A | 32 min | $175,870 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elmhurst’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 Elmhurst: questions
What is the median household income in Elmhurst?
$149,644 (±$10,307) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elmhurst?
3.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elmhurst?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elmhurst work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (21%, 14 mi), Oak Brook (4%, 4 mi), Schaumburg (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elmhurst walkable?
Elmhurst is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.1 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elmhurst without a car?
12% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elmhurst, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elmhurst
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.