Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm · Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0A job hub: Mettawa has 22.1 jobs per working resident, and 4,832 people come in to work
Hardly any stay in Mettawa for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (22%, 31 miles). There are 4,834 jobs in Mettawa; 219 of its residents have a job. For 28% of workers, the job is at home (Illinois 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Mettawa and work: the main findings
Mettawa fills up on a workday
Mettawa has 4,834 jobs, 22.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,200 people are in town, 9 times the 570 who live here. Day and night ↓
Mettawa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Mettawa is Chicago, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (48) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Nearly all jobs in Mettawa pay over $40,000 a year
89% of the jobs based in Mettawa pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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; with 219 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Mettawa: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 217 residents head out to work and 2 work right here.
About 5,200 people are in Mettawa on a workday afternoon, 814% more 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.
Half of Mettawa commutes less than 16 miles
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.
89% of the jobs in Mettawa pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mettawa, 2013 → 2023: 3,962 → 4,834. 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 Mettawa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to Mettawa: where workers come from
Where Mettawa clocks in
22% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
From Mettawa, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mettawa workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 192 commuters (the 28% 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.
11% of Mettawa works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Libertyville (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mettawa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mettawa | – | — | — | 31 min | $181,333 |
| Libertyville | 6% | A+ | A | 26 min | $165,667 |
| Lake Forest | 5% | A+ | A | 31 min | $235,081 |
| Vernon Hills | under 2% | A | A− | 27 min | $121,943 |
| Green Oaks | under 2% | A− | B+ | 31 min | $147,614 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mettawa’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 Mettawa: questions
What is the median household income in Mettawa?
$181,333 (±$44,254) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mettawa?
6.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mettawa?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mettawa work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (22%, 31 mi), Libertyville (6%, 4 mi), Lake Forest (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mettawa without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mettawa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mettawa
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.