Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0La Grange’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. 4.6% of residents are in poverty; Illinois has 11.8%. La Grange grades A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in La Grange: the gist
Home offices are common in La Grange
29% of La Grange workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
39% of La Grange works in Chicago
2,993 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Chicago, 10 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in La Grange itself. The commute map ↓
La Grange draws workers from far and wide
The 6,256 jobs in La Grange are filled from a wide area. La Grange’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 60% 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.
Jobs & income in La Grange: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, La Grange is among the top U.S. towns, #11 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Grange stays A+.
A commute of about 29 minutes in La Grange
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Grange workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,863 commuters (the 29% 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.
39% of working residents work in Chicago
Where La Grange clocks in
39% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
How many people are in La Grange by day
On a workday 7,162 residents head out to work, 426 work right here, and 5,830 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 (0.82 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 kinds of work in La Grange
6,256 jobs are based in La Grange.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Grange, 2013 → 2023: 7,216 → 6,256. 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 La Grange’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far La Grange goes 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.
In La Grange, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Grange is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #8 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place La Grange 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 8,210 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 95% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 43% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 3.7% of La Grange households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of La Grange’s commuters take a bus or train.
La Grange places 30th of 2,220 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| 29 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 30 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| 31 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| 32 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | 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 La Grange, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around La Grange
The biggest share goes to Countryside (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Grange workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Grange | – | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $159,929 |
| Countryside | 2% | B | A | 25 min | $80,968 |
| La Grange Park | 1% | A | A+ | 29 min | $120,408 |
| Lyons Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $92,619 |
| Proviso Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $82,097 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of La Grange’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 La Grange: questions
What is the median household income in La Grange?
$159,929 (±$16,644) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Grange?
4.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Grange?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Grange work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (39%, 10 mi), Oak Brook (2%, 4 mi), Downers Grove (2%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Grange walkable?
La Grange is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 17% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Grange without a car?
14% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 43% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Grange, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Grange
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.