Photo: Oakus53 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Lemont have higher incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. Below the poverty line: 3.1% of residents, against 11.8% across Illinois. For jobs and income Lemont is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lemont: the figures worth knowing
Lemont 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 ↓
Lemont draws workers from far and wide
The 6,375 jobs in Lemont are filled from a wide area. Lemont’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 57% 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.
What’s behind Lemont’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Lemont’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, 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, Lemont could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lemont workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,736 commuters (the 17% 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.
22% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Lemont clocks in
22% 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.
A workday in Lemont: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 7,046 residents head out to work, 808 work right here, and 5,567 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 (0.81 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.
What the 6,375 jobs in Lemont are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lemont, 2013 → 2023: 5,799 → 6,375. 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 Lemont’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Lemont
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.
Lemont is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,125 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 6% 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 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% 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). 3.2% of Lemont households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Lemont’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lemont is 226th of 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 224 | East Longmeadow MA | 16,581 | $107K | 3.8% | 2.9% | 14% | A |
| 225 | Wilbraham MA | 14,715 | $122K | 4.6% | 2.5% | 11% | A |
| 226 | Lemont IL | 18,513 | $123K | 3.1% | 4.5% | 10% | A |
| 227 | Rye NY | 16,614 | $240K | 2.7% | 5.4% | 10% | A |
| 228 | Twinsburg OH | 18,939 | $99K | 4.1% | 2.6% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | 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 Lemont, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Lemont and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Woodridge (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lemont workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemont | – | A | A | 35 min | $123,370 |
| Palos Park | under 2% | A− | B+ | 30 min | $121,696 |
| Willow Springs | under 2% | A | B | 28 min | $103,583 |
| Woodridge | 2% | A | A | 30 min | $101,000 |
| Romeoville | under 2% | A− | A− | 32 min | $106,325 |
| Lemont Township | under 2% | A | A | 35 min | $120,984 |
| Downers Grove Township | 1% | A | A | 28 min | $117,335 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lemont’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 Lemont: questions
What is the median household income in Lemont?
$123,370 (±$26,461) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lemont?
3.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lemont?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lemont work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (22%, 19 mi), Downers Grove (3%, 9 mi), Bolingbrook (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lemont walkable?
Lemont is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lemont without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lemont, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lemont
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.