Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Hoffman Estates are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Hoffman Estates are A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Poverty touches 7.1% of residents (Illinois 11.8%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.3 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
The work figures that set Hoffman Estates apart
Hoffman Estates’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Hoffman Estates is Chicago, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (3,873) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Hoffman Estates draws workers from far and wide
The 17,676 jobs in Hoffman Estates are filled from a wide area. Hoffman Estates’ own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Hoffman Estates than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hoffman Estates fell from 25,315 in 2013 to 17,676 in 2023, −30%. 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 ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Hoffman Estates
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hoffman Estates is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #184 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hoffman Estates could be anywhere from B+ to A.
How far it is to work from Hoffman Estates
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.
16% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Hoffman Estates clocks in
16% of workers
10% 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.
66% of the jobs in Hoffman Estates pay over $3,333 a month
17,676 jobs are based in Hoffman Estates.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hoffman Estates, 2013 → 2023: 25,315 → 17,676. 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 Hoffman Estates’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Hoffman Estates for work, and who comes in
On a workday 23,300 residents head out to work, 1,145 work right here, and 16,531 people come in from elsewhere.
About 44,000 people are in Hoffman Estates on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.72 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.
About 29 minutes each way, about the IL average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hoffman Estates workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,472 commuters (the 18% 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.
Hoffman Estates 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, Hoffman Estates is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #232 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Hoffman Estates 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 26,224 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 29% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 4.8% of Hoffman Estates households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Hoffman Estates’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 846 U.S. towns of 36,000 to 69,000, Hoffman Estates comes 223rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Oswego IL | 39,948 | $124K | 2.6% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Roy UT | 38,794 | $91K | 5.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| 222 | Waltham MA | 65,037 | $120K | 9.4% | 3.7% | 19% | A− |
| 223 | Hoffman Estates IL | 50,858 | $107K | 7.1% | 4.2% | 5% | A− |
| 224 | Grapevine TX | 50,714 | $111K | 6.7% | 4.7% | 14% | A− |
| 225 | Spanish Fork UT | 48,837 | $105K | 6.6% | 2.3% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 846 | 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 Hoffman Estates, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
13% of Hoffman Estates works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Schaumburg (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hoffman Estates workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoffman Estates | – | A− | A− | 29 min | $106,806 |
| Schaumburg | 10% | A | A | 28 min | $97,514 |
| South Barrington | under 2% | A+ | A− | 29 min | $221,575 |
| Streamwood | under 2% | A− | B+ | 30 min | $101,218 |
| Inverness | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 26 min | $207,434 |
| Barrington Township | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $183,663 |
| Palatine Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $104,916 |
| Barrington Hills | under 2% | A | A− | 30 min | $205,074 |
| Elgin | 3% | B | A | 28 min | $90,282 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hoffman Estates’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 Hoffman Estates: questions
What is the median household income in Hoffman Estates?
$106,806 (±$7,715) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hoffman Estates?
7.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hoffman Estates?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hoffman Estates work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (16%, 28 mi), Schaumburg (10%, 4 mi), Elk Grove Village (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hoffman Estates walkable?
Hoffman Estates is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hoffman Estates without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hoffman Estates, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hoffman Estates
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.