Photo: Thshriver · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Kenilworth are among the highest of any U.S. town
2.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.8% across Illinois. Measured by household income, Kenilworth is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Jobs and income earn Kenilworth A+; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Kenilworth stands out on work
Home offices are common in Kenilworth
43% of Kenilworth workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Nearly half of Kenilworth works in Chicago
536 working residents, 49%, have their main job in Chicago, 18 miles away. That’s 25 times as many as work in Kenilworth itself. The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Kenilworth’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 74% of the jobs based in Kenilworth. The jobs ↓
Kenilworth 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 ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Kenilworth
On income, poverty and job access, Kenilworth is among the top U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Kenilworth’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (4.0%) is left out: Kenilworth’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
The Census reports Kenilworth’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Kenilworth stays A+.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kenilworth workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 522 commuters (the 43% 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.
49% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Kenilworth clocks in
49% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
443 jobs are based in Kenilworth.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kenilworth, 2013 → 2023: 560 → 443. 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 Kenilworth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Kenilworth on a workday
On a workday 1,063 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 416 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Kenilworth on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
The distance from Kenilworth 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Kenilworth
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kenilworth is among the most walkable U.S. towns. Both inputs place Kenilworth 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 920 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, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 1.3% of Kenilworth households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 37% of Kenilworth’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kenilworth next to U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300: 1st of 5,207 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 133 | Prairie Du Long Township IL | 2,549 | $159K | 0.5% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Kenilworth, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Kenilworth
The biggest share goes to Winnetka (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kenilworth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenilworth | – | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Wilmette | 2% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $190,662 |
| New Trier Township | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 34 min | $215,916 |
| Winnetka | 3% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kenilworth’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Kenilworth: questions
What is the median household income in Kenilworth?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kenilworth?
2.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kenilworth?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 43% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kenilworth work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (49%, 18 mi), Skokie (3%, 4 mi), Winnetka (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kenilworth walkable?
Kenilworth is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 44% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kenilworth without a car?
37% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kenilworth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kenilworth
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.