Photo: Mythicmeadows · CC BY 3.0With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of Montgomery works elsewhere
Measured by household income, Montgomery is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. Employers in Montgomery report 6,270 jobs; 11,030 of its residents have a job. Montgomery grades A− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Montgomery
Stores, warehouses and trucking
44% of the jobs in Montgomery are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Montgomery 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Montgomery
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montgomery is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #182 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.4%, 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, Montgomery could be anywhere from B to A+.
The kinds of work in Montgomery
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montgomery, 2013 → 2023: 5,621 → 6,270. 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 Montgomery’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 33 minutes to work from Montgomery
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montgomery workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,168 commuters (the 12% 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.
Montgomery by day and by night
On a workday 10,737 residents head out to work, 293 work right here, and 5,977 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Montgomery on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer 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.
14% of working residents work in Aurora
Where Montgomery clocks in
14% of workers
12% of workers
6% 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.
Miles to work from Montgomery
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.
Most trips from Montgomery start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Montgomery is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #597 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 11,549 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.1% of Montgomery households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Montgomery’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,847 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000, Montgomery comes 493rd 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 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 491 | Bloomfield CT | 22,267 | $99K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 12% | A− |
| 492 | Readington Township NJ | 16,406 | $158K | 3.3% | 5.9% | 8% | A− |
| 493 | Montgomery IL | 21,978 | $104K | 6.7% | 3.4% | 3% | A− |
| 494 | North Salt Lake UT | 23,588 | $101K | 5.9% | 3.9% | 7% | A− |
| 495 | Holden MA | 20,526 | $142K | 4.4% | 4.7% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | 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 Montgomery, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Montgomery and its neighbors: 20% work next door
The biggest share goes to Aurora (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montgomery workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | – | A− | C+ | 33 min | $103,734 |
| Aurora | 14% | B+ | A | 27 min | $93,633 |
| Oswego | 4% | A+ | B | 32 min | $123,792 |
| Boulder Hill | under 2% | B− | C− | 27 min | $80,377 |
| Yorkville | 2% | A | B | 34 min | $108,513 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Montgomery’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 Montgomery: questions
What is the median household income in Montgomery?
$103,734 (±$10,399) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montgomery?
6.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montgomery?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montgomery work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aurora (14%, 5 mi), Chicago (12%, 36 mi), Naperville (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Montgomery walkable?
Montgomery is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Montgomery without a car?
1% 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 Montgomery, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montgomery
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.