Schiller, Alfred A.,House · Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0Glen Ellyn has higher household incomes than 94% of U.S. towns
6.3% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Jobs and income earn Glen Ellyn A; getting around on foot earns it A+. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Glen Ellyn at work: what stands out
Glen Ellyn trades workers with the towns around it
Glen Ellyn has about as many jobs (11,826) as working residents (12,566), but they are mostly different people: 11,547 residents leave for work each day while 10,807 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Glen Ellyn are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Glen Ellyn works from home
33% of Glen Ellyn workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Glen Ellyn draws workers from far and wide
The 11,826 jobs in Glen Ellyn are filled from a wide area. Glen Ellyn’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 56% 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.
The four measures behind Glen Ellyn’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Glen Ellyn is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #172 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Glen Ellyn’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, 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, Glen Ellyn could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 11,547 residents head out to work, 1,019 work right here, and 10,807 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 (0.94 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.
Getting to work from Glen Ellyn takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Glen Ellyn workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,869 commuters (the 33% 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.
20% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Glen Ellyn clocks in
20% 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.
Most jobs in Glen Ellyn are in services
11,826 jobs are based in Glen Ellyn.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Glen Ellyn, 2013 → 2023: 10,915 → 11,826. 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 Glen Ellyn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Glen Ellyn
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.
In Glen Ellyn, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Glen Ellyn is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #22 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Glen Ellyn 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 13,206 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 94% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 6.6% of Glen Ellyn households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 12% of Glen Ellyn’s commuters take a bus or train.
Glen Ellyn next to U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000: 355th of 1,467 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 353 | Moorestown Township NJ | 22,262 | $160K | 5.7% | 5.6% | 11% | A |
| 354 | Norco CA | 25,081 | $128K | 5.6% | 4.8% | 8% | A |
| 355 | Glen Ellyn IL | 28,750 | $141K | 6.3% | 5.3% | 8% | A |
| 356 | Guilford CT | 22,322 | $138K | 2.8% | 4.9% | 15% | A |
| 357 | Walnut CA | 27,316 | $129K | 10.1% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Glen Ellyn, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Glen Ellyn and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Wheaton (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Glen Ellyn workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Ellyn | – | A | A+ | 29 min | $140,938 |
| Wheaton | 4% | A | A+ | 26 min | $120,008 |
| Lombard | 3% | A− | A | 26 min | $100,362 |
| Carol Stream | 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $102,309 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Glen Ellyn’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 Glen Ellyn: questions
What is the median household income in Glen Ellyn?
$140,938 (±$12,185) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Glen Ellyn?
6.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Glen Ellyn?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 33% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Glen Ellyn work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (20%, 20 mi), Naperville (4%, 10 mi), Wheaton (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Glen Ellyn walkable?
Glen Ellyn is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Glen Ellyn without a car?
12% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Glen Ellyn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Glen Ellyn
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.