Photo: Dwatling98 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in McHenry earn more than those in 64% of U.S. towns
4.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.8% across Illinois. The two grades for McHenry are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven work in McHenry; the top destination outside it is Chicago (8%, 46 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: McHenry in brief
McHenry trades workers with the towns around it
McHenry has about as many jobs (13,346) as working residents (12,897), but they are mostly different people: 11,258 residents leave for work each day while 11,707 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in McHenry are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
McHenry’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside McHenry is Chicago, 46 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (1,096) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
No single place dominates McHenry’s commute
The biggest draw, Chicago, gets only 8% of working residents, and 60% work outside the top ten towns entirely. McHenry residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
McHenry draws workers from far and wide
The 13,346 jobs in McHenry are filled from a wide area. McHenry’s own residents hold 12% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 59% 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.
Where McHenry’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, McHenry is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #239 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, McHenry could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of McHenry
On a workday 11,258 residents head out to work, 1,639 work right here, and 11,707 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 (1.03 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.
How many miles McHenry 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.
Where people from McHenry work
Where McHenry clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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.
The kinds of work in McHenry
13,346 jobs are based in McHenry.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in McHenry, 2013 → 2023: 14,392 → 13,346. 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 McHenry’s own residents hold wherever they work.
McHenry’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of McHenry workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,990 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.
McHenry is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, McHenry is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #352 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 15,131 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 42% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 22% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 6.5% of McHenry households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of McHenry’s commuters take a bus or train.
How McHenry ranks: 486th of 1,467 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 39,000
| # | 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 484 | Lincolnia VA | 20,320 | $122K | 7.7% | 5.4% | 3% | A− |
| 485 | Marysville OH | 30,190 | $93K | 6.7% | 3.1% | 18% | A− |
| 486 | McHenry IL | 29,217 | $86K | 4.7% | 3.6% | 13% | A− |
| 487 | Bergenfield NJ | 28,754 | $130K | 7.1% | 6.2% | 5% | A− |
| 488 | Center Township IN | 31,974 | $79K | 5.1% | 3.1% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,467 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 McHenry, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
McHenry and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Johnsburg (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | McHenry workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McHenry | – | A− | B+ | 29 min | $86,315 |
| Wonder Lake | under 2% | B+ | D | 37 min | $94,655 |
| Johnsburg | 1% | A− | B− | 28 min | $121,023 |
| McCullom Lake | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Bull Valley | under 2% | A | B− | 33 min | $191,250 |
| Prairie Grove | under 2% | A | A− | 35 min | $141,389 |
Same-state neighbors only. McCullom Lake: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of McHenry’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 McHenry: questions
What is the median household income in McHenry?
$86,315 (±$6,312) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in McHenry?
4.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from McHenry?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in McHenry work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (8%, 46 mi), Crystal Lake (6%, 8 mi), Woodstock (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is McHenry walkable?
McHenry is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around McHenry without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 22% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from McHenry, from the people who make the trip.
More of McHenry
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.