Photo: Zarka Khalid · CC BY-SA 4.0Frankfort has higher household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Frankfort is better than 94% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (A−). 3.2% of residents live below the poverty line, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. 24% of workers work from home, next to 16% for Illinois as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Frankfort: the gist
Frankfort trades workers with the towns around it
Frankfort has about as many jobs (8,602) as working residents (9,520), but they are mostly different people: 8,813 residents leave for work each day while 7,895 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Frankfort are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Frankfort’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Frankfort is Chicago, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (1,595) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Frankfort workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Frankfort
24% of Frankfort workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Frankfort draws workers from far and wide
The 8,602 jobs in Frankfort are filled from a wide area. Frankfort’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. 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: Frankfort’s grade explained
Household income is its strongest input ($154,375, 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, Frankfort could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Frankfort
On a workday 8,813 residents head out to work, 707 work right here, and 7,895 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 (0.90 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.
The distance from Frankfort 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.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Frankfort workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,101 commuters (the 24% 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.
17% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Frankfort clocks in
17% of workers
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Frankfort
8,602 jobs are based in Frankfort.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Frankfort, 2013 → 2023: 6,816 → 8,602. 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 Frankfort’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Frankfort is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,290 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). 3.6% of Frankfort households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Frankfort’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Frankfort is 168th among 1,787 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Lino Lakes MN | 23,220 | $127K | 2.7% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| 167 | Denville Township NJ | 17,424 | $161K | 1.9% | 4.8% | 8% | A |
| 168 | Frankfort IL | 21,365 | $154K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| 169 | Wendell NC | 19,687 | $96K | 3.2% | 1.3% | 4% | A |
| 170 | Lakeway TX | 19,027 | $190K | 2.5% | 3.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Frankfort, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Frankfort
The biggest share goes to Tinley Park (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Frankfort workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort | – | A | A− | 35 min | $154,375 |
| Frankfort Square | under 2% | A− | B− | 28 min | $126,897 |
| Tinley Park | 4% | A− | A | 34 min | $105,189 |
| Richton Park | under 2% | C+ | A− | 33 min | $64,554 |
| Mokena | 4% | A | A− | 31 min | $123,889 |
| Frankfort Township | under 2% | A | A− | 32 min | $134,769 |
| Green Garden Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 33 min | $133,977 |
| New Lenox Township | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 32 min | $133,434 |
| Manhattan Township | under 2% | A+ | B− | 37 min | $129,207 |
| Matteson | under 2% | B | A− | 34 min | $95,457 |
| Rich Township | under 2% | B− | A | 33 min | $83,848 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Frankfort’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 Frankfort: questions
What is the median household income in Frankfort?
$154,375 (±$11,309) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Frankfort?
3.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Frankfort?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Frankfort work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 25 mi), Mokena (4%, 2 mi), Tinley Park (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Frankfort walkable?
Frankfort is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Frankfort without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Frankfort, from the people who make the trip.
More of Frankfort
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.