Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Long Lake (17.1%) is among the highest in the country
Jobs & income B: better than 62% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #404 of 768 in Illinois.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns · #297 of 768 in Illinois.
Household incomes here are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 33 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Long Lake; the top destination outside it is Chicago (9%, 43 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.4 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Long Lake
Long Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Long Lake is Chicago, 43 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (142) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Long Lake is a place people come home to
There are 243 jobs based in Long Lake, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Long Lake has about 1,900 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Long Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 38 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.
What’s behind Long Lake’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Long Lake is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #404 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Long Lake’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (17.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Long Lake could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Half of Long Lake commutes less than 14 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Long Lake quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,603 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 230 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Long Lake on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.
0.15 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.
About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Long Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,624 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
9% of working residents work in Chicago
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Long Lake clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 243 jobs in Long Lake are
243 jobs are based in Long Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Long Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Long Lake, 2013 → 2023: 106 → 243. 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.
Long Lake is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Long Lake is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #297 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.0% 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 1,766 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 53% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 52% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 0.0% of Long Lake households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Long Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Long Lake is 1,684th of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Long Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,682 | Daugherty Township PA | 3,035 | $88K | 6.7% | 6.1% | 2% | B |
| 1,683 | Palo Cedro CA | 3,685 | $120K | 6.6% | 5.8% | 7% | B |
| 1,684 | Long Lake IL | 3,307 | $105K | 7.5% | 17.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,685 | Jefferson Township IN | 3,693 | $102K | 11.1% | 4.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,686 | Harrison Township IN | 3,582 | $81K | 9.1% | 3.7% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | 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.
Long Lake and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Round Lake Beach (3%). Darker towns draw more of Long Lake’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Long Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Lake | – | B | A− | 33 min | $104,621 |
| Round Lake Beach | 3% | B− | A− | 30 min | $86,059 |
| Round Lake Heights | under 2% | B | B | 34 min | $78,986 |
| Round Lake | under 2% | B+ | B | 31 min | $111,977 |
| Avon Township | under 2% | B | A− | 30 min | $97,925 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Long Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Long Lake?
$104,621 (±$12,727) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Long Lake?
7.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Long Lake?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Long Lake work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (9%, 43 mi), Waukegan (5%, 13 mi), Gurnee (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Long Lake walkable?
Long Lake is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Long Lake without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 52% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Long Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Long Lake
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.