Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0Lake Bluff’s household incomes are higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Below the poverty line: 1.5% of residents, against 11.8% across Illinois. The two grades for Lake Bluff are 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
What sets Lake Bluff apart on work
A lot of Lake Bluff works from home
34% of Lake Bluff workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Lake Bluff’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lake Bluff is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 26% of working residents (639) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Lake Bluff than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Lake Bluff fell from 5,305 in 2013 to 3,193 in 2023, −40%. 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 ↓
Three in four Lake Bluff workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Lake Bluff’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. 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.
How Lake Bluff earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lake Bluff is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #51 of 768 in Illinois. Household income holds Lake Bluff’s grade up ($204,000, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Bluff could be anywhere from A to A+.
How long Lake Bluff spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Bluff workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,925 commuters (the 34% 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.
How far it is to work from Lake Bluff
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.
71% of the jobs in Lake Bluff pay over $3,333 a month
3,193 jobs are based in Lake Bluff.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Bluff, 2013 → 2023: 5,305 → 3,193. 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 Lake Bluff’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lake Bluff fills up on a workday
On a workday 2,249 residents head out to work, 179 work right here, and 3,014 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,300 people are in Lake Bluff on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 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.
26% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Lake Bluff clocks in
26% of workers
7% 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.
Lake Bluff is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Bluff is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #89 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Lake Bluff 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 2,909 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 33% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 0.3% of Lake Bluff households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 9% of Lake Bluff’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lake Bluff ranks: 194th of 3,502 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Northfield IL | 5,632 | $162K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Grandwood Park IL | 5,262 | $127K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 192 | Carlisle MA | 5,286 | $250K | 1.5% | 4.1% | 6% | A+ |
| 193 | Highland Beach FL | 4,328 | $145K | 2.3% | 3.5% | 7% | A+ |
| 194 | Lake Bluff IL | 5,563 | $204K | 1.5% | 4.4% | 7% | A+ |
| 195 | Lafayette Township IN | 4,451 | $119K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 196 | Webster Township MI | 6,485 | $155K | 3.5% | 2.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,502 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lake Bluff, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 15% of Lake Bluff’s workers
The biggest share goes to Lake Forest (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Bluff workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Bluff | – | A+ | A | 28 min | $204,000 |
| Shields Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 21 min | $112,865 |
| Knollwood | under 2% | A | A | 21 min | $138,618 |
| North Chicago | 4% | C | A+ | 17 min | $60,172 |
| Lake Forest | 7% | A+ | A | 31 min | $235,081 |
| Libertyville Township | 4% | A | A | 26 min | $134,398 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Bluff’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 Lake Bluff: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Bluff?
$204,000 (±$49,390) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Bluff?
1.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Bluff?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Bluff work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (26%, 32 mi), Lake Forest (7%, 3 mi), Libertyville Township (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lake Bluff walkable?
Lake Bluff is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Bluff without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Bluff, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Bluff
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.