Will County Historical Society Headquarters · Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Lockport works elsewhere
Household incomes here are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns. Employers in Lockport report 7,024 jobs for 13,398 working residents. Jobs and income earn Lockport 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
Lockport at work: what stands out
Lockport 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 ↓
Lockport’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lockport is Chicago, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (1,974) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Lockport has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lockport went from 4,987 in 2013 to 7,024 in 2023, +41%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lockport
68% of Lockport residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 50% of the jobs based in Lockport pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Lockport’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lockport is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #201 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Lockport’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.7%, 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, Lockport could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Time on the road from Lockport: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lockport workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,361 commuters (the 14% 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 many miles Lockport commutes
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.
The kinds of work in Lockport
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lockport, 2013 → 2023: 4,987 → 7,024. 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 Lockport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lockport quiets down on a workday
On a workday 12,414 residents head out to work, 984 work right here, and 6,040 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Lockport on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
15% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Lockport clocks in
15% of workers
5% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Lockport
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lockport is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #296 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,338 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 35% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 2.9% of Lockport households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Lockport’s commuters take a bus or train.
451st of 1,544: where Lockport ranks among U.S. towns of 19,000 to 38,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 449 | West Falls Church VA | 31,279 | $135K | 7.9% | 4.9% | 3% | A− |
| 450 | Fair Oaks VA | 35,545 | $124K | 5.7% | 5.7% | 7% | A− |
| 451 | Lockport IL | 27,822 | $112K | 6.8% | 4.7% | 7% | A− |
| 452 | Upper Moreland Township PA | 25,880 | $99K | 5.4% | 4.8% | 7% | A− |
| 453 | Claremont CA | 35,838 | $126K | 6.9% | 5.1% | 18% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,544 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Lockport, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Lockport and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Homer Glen (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lockport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockport | – | A− | A− | 35 min | $111,981 |
| Bonnie Brae | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Fairmont | under 2% | C+ | B | 23 min | $70,795 |
| Homer Glen | 2% | A | B− | 36 min | $136,678 |
| Lockport Heights | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bonnie Brae and Lockport Heights: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lockport’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 Lockport: questions
What is the median household income in Lockport?
$111,981 (±$8,876) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lockport?
6.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lockport?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lockport work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 25 mi), Joliet (5%, 8 mi), Bolingbrook (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lockport walkable?
Lockport is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lockport without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lockport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lockport
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.