More people are out of work in Gages Lake (9.0%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Gages Lake grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Household incomes here are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Gages Lake apart
Fewer jobs are based in Gages Lake than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Gages Lake fell from 2,434 in 2014 to 1,328 in 2024, −45%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Gages Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Gages Lake is Chicago, 39 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (473) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Gages Lake is a place people come home to
There are 1,328 jobs based in Gages Lake, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Gages Lake has about 7,200 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Gages Lake
70% of Gages Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Gages Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Gages Lake’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gages Lake is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #358 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Gages Lake’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. 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, Gages Lake could be anywhere from B− to A−.
What the 1,328 jobs in Gages Lake are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gages Lake, 2014 → 2024: 2,434 → 1,328. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gages Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Gages Lake
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Gages Lake by day and by night
On a workday 4,905 residents head out to work, 89 work right here, and 1,239 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,200 people are in Gages Lake on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.27 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 2024, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Gages Lake clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Commuting from Gages Lake: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gages Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,513 commuters (the 22% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Gages Lake
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gages Lake is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #140 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Gages 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 5,753 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 2.4% of Gages Lake households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Gages Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Gages Lake is 1,102nd 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% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,100 | Long Creek Township IL | 10,139 | $85K | 6.0% | 4.1% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,101 | Van Buren NY | 14,038 | $74K | 8.5% | 3.2% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,102 | Gages Lake IL | 10,819 | $103K | 7.0% | 9.0% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,103 | Commerce CA | 11,688 | $77K | 12.4% | 3.9% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,104 | Molalla OR | 10,104 | $89K | 4.3% | 4.7% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | 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 Gages Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Gages Lake and its neighbors: 11% work next door
The biggest share goes to Gurnee (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gages Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gages Lake | – | B+ | A | 26 min | $103,318 |
| Gurnee | 7% | A | B+ | 27 min | $119,628 |
| Third Lake | under 3% | A+ | A− | 30 min | $150,139 |
| Grayslake | 4% | A− | A− | 27 min | $113,972 |
| Avon Township | under 3% | B | A− | 30 min | $97,925 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gages 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 2024, 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 Gages Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Gages Lake?
$103,318 (±$7,164) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gages Lake?
7.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gages Lake?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gages Lake work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (9%, 39 mi), Gurnee (7%, 3 mi), Libertyville (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Gages Lake walkable?
Gages Lake is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gages Lake without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gages Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gages Lake
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.