Photo: DosEquis630708 · CC BY-SA 4.0Work, pay and getting to work in Fox Lake
The two grades for Fox Lake are B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Only 6% stay in Fox Lake for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (11%, 48 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Fox Lake apart on work
Fox Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Fox Lake is Chicago, 48 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (551) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fox Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Fox Lake’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fox Lake is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #478 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Fox Lake’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fox Lake could be anywhere from C to A−.
Fox Lake’s commute, mile by mile
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 Fox Lake: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fox Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,905 commuters (the 13% 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.
Fox Lake by day and by night
On a workday 4,588 residents head out to work, 286 work right here, and 2,739 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,000 people are in Fox Lake on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.62 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.
Commuting out of Fox Lake: the destinations
Where Fox Lake clocks in
11% of workers
3% 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.
Jobs in Fox Lake: what the 3,025 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fox Lake, 2013 → 2023: 2,632 → 3,025. 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 Fox Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Fox Lake is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fox Lake is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #213 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Fox Lake 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 5,621 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 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). 5.4% of Fox Lake households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fox Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fox Lake is 1,422nd of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,420 | Fenton MI | 11,774 | $80K | 6.9% | 8.7% | 12% | B− |
| 1,421 | Palmetto FL | 13,562 | $63K | 13.5% | 2.6% | 7% | B− |
| 1,422 | Fox Lake IL | 10,849 | $71K | 13.1% | 4.2% | 6% | B− |
| 1,423 | Waverly IA | 10,561 | $80K | 10.9% | 3.5% | 32% | B− |
| 1,424 | St. Joseph Township MI | 9,703 | $95K | 8.6% | 6.8% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Fox Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Fox Lake and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fox Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox Lake | – | B− | A− | 34 min | $70,819 |
| Spring Grove | under 2% | A− | C+ | 34 min | $134,210 |
| Volo | under 2% | A+ | B− | 32 min | $160,792 |
| Burton Township | under 2% | A+ | C | 33 min | $125,921 |
| Antioch Township | under 2% | B | B | 32 min | $101,932 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fox Lake’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 Fox Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Fox Lake?
$70,819 (±$9,787) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fox Lake?
13.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fox Lake?
34 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fox Lake work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (11%, 48 mi), McHenry (3%, 8 mi), Waukegan (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fox Lake walkable?
Fox Lake is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fox Lake without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fox Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fox Lake
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.