Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0Mokena has higher household incomes than 90% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. Poverty touches 4.5% of residents, against 11.8% across Illinois. Jobs and income earn Mokena 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
Mokena and work: the main findings
Mokena trades workers with the towns around it
Mokena has about as many jobs (10,706) as working residents (9,801), but they are mostly different people: 9,056 residents leave for work each day while 9,961 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Mokena are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Mokena’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Mokena is Chicago, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (1,481) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Mokena has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Mokena went from 7,416 in 2013 to 10,706 in 2023, +44%. The jobs ↓
Mokena draws workers from far and wide
The 10,706 jobs in Mokena are filled from a wide area. Mokena’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Mokena’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mokena is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #102 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mokena could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Mokena on a workday afternoon
On a workday 9,056 residents head out to work, 745 work right here, and 9,961 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 (1.09 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.
Miles to work from Mokena
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.
What Mokena’s employers do
10,706 jobs are based in Mokena.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mokena, 2013 → 2023: 7,416 → 10,706. 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 Mokena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
15% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Mokena clocks in
15% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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 daily trip from Mokena: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mokena workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,759 commuters (the 17% 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.
In Mokena, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mokena is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #230 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Mokena 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 10,546 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 12% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 3.6% of Mokena households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Mokena’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 14,000 to 27,000, Mokena ranks 279th of 1,860 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Ewa Gentry HI | 26,563 | $136K | 2.9% | 3.6% | <1% | A |
| 278 | Moon Township PA | 26,756 | $113K | 3.3% | 3.6% | 14% | A |
| 279 | Mokena IL | 19,897 | $124K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| 280 | Point Pleasant NJ | 19,712 | $116K | 4.5% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| 281 | Mukilteo WA | 21,239 | $133K | 5.7% | 3.1% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,860 | 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 Mokena, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 12% of Mokena
The biggest share goes to Tinley Park (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mokena workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mokena | – | A | A− | 31 min | $123,889 |
| Tinley Park | 4% | A− | A | 34 min | $105,189 |
| Arbury Hills | under 2% | A | B+ | 24 min | $99,091 |
| Frankfort | 4% | A | A− | 35 min | $154,375 |
| New Lenox | 4% | A+ | A− | 33 min | $140,865 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mokena’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 Mokena: questions
What is the median household income in Mokena?
$123,889 (±$12,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mokena?
4.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mokena?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mokena work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 23 mi), Orland Park (4%, 6 mi), Frankfort (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mokena walkable?
Mokena is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mokena without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mokena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mokena
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.