Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0At 7.7%, unemployment in Maywood is higher than in 87% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. The two grades for Maywood are C+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Only 4% work in Maywood; the top destination outside it is Chicago (30%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Maywood: the gist
Maywood and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Maywood residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Maywood come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Maywood pay better than its residents’ jobs
72% of the jobs based in Maywood pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 55% of the jobs Maywood residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Maywood. The jobs ↓
Maywood workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Maywood is services
88% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Maywood draws workers from far and wide
The 13,344 jobs in Maywood are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 42%; the other 55% 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 Maywood: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Maywood is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #552 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Maywood’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Maywood could be anywhere from C to B.
The places Maywood commutes to
Where Maywood clocks in
30% of workers
3% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Maywood
13,344 jobs are based in Maywood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Maywood, 2013 → 2023: 10,584 → 13,344. 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 Maywood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 34 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Maywood workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,090 commuters (the 13% 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.
Who commutes out of Maywood, and who commutes in
On a workday 9,065 residents head out to work, 380 work right here, and 12,964 people come in from elsewhere.
About 27,000 people are in Maywood on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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 distance from Maywood 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.
Maywood 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, Maywood is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #39 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Maywood 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 9,282 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 68% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 10.3% of Maywood households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Maywood’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Maywood ranks: 1,259th of 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,257 | Menomonie WI | 16,664 | $57K | 17.7% | 5.8% | 41% | C+ |
| 1,258 | Drexel Heights AZ | 27,675 | $74K | 14.6% | 5.3% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,259 | Maywood IL | 23,330 | $69K | 15.5% | 7.7% | 4% | C+ |
| 1,260 | Hickory Point Township IL | 17,474 | $59K | 10.4% | 4.6% | 11% | C+ |
| 1,261 | Kailua HI | 21,818 | $88K | 14.3% | 4.0% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | 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 Maywood, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Maywood
The biggest share goes to Melrose Park (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Maywood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maywood | – | C+ | A+ | 34 min | $68,815 |
| Forest Park | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $77,221 |
| River Forest | under 2% | A | A+ | 33 min | $146,786 |
| River Forest Township | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Proviso Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $82,097 |
| Broadview | under 2% | B− | A | 26 min | $64,697 |
| Melrose Park | 3% | B− | A | 27 min | $66,189 |
| Bellwood | 1% | B | A+ | 28 min | $79,513 |
Same-state neighbors only. River Forest Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Maywood’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 Maywood: questions
What is the median household income in Maywood?
$68,815 (±$6,614) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Maywood?
15.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Maywood?
34 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Maywood work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (30%, 9 mi), Melrose Park (3%, 2 mi), Elk Grove Village (2%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Maywood walkable?
Maywood is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Maywood without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 68% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Maywood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Maywood
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.