Herbert A. Dilg House · Photo: Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois, USA · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Morton Grove have higher incomes than those in 84% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Poverty touches 7.3% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. The two grades for Morton Grove are A− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Morton Grove apart on work
Morton Grove trades workers with the towns around it
Morton Grove has about as many jobs (10,496) as working residents (12,274), but they are mostly different people: 11,658 residents leave for work each day while 9,880 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Morton Grove are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Morton Grove and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Morton Grove residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Morton Grove come from (29% of its jobs). 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.
The figures behind Morton Grove’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Morton Grove is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #181 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Morton Grove’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Morton Grove could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Morton Grove on a workday afternoon
On a workday 11,658 residents head out to work, 616 work right here, and 9,880 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 (0.86 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.
33% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Morton Grove clocks in
33% of workers
6% 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.
Inside Morton Grove’s 10,496 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Morton Grove, 2013 → 2023: 7,972 → 10,496. 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 Morton Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way, about the IL average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Morton Grove workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,719 commuters (the 18% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Morton Grove
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.
Morton Grove is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Morton Grove is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #90 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.4% 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 11,851 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, 55% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 5.7% of Morton Grove households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Morton Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Morton Grove is 439th of 1,642 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 437 | Simsbury CT | 25,582 | $158K | 4.8% | 5.0% | 15% | A |
| 438 | Weehawken Township NJ | 17,827 | $128K | 7.3% | 4.9% | 5% | A |
| 439 | Morton Grove IL | 24,582 | $111K | 7.3% | 4.4% | 5% | A− |
| 440 | Bloomfield CT | 22,267 | $99K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 12% | A− |
| 441 | Mamaroneck NY | 31,479 | $164K | 7.4% | 5.2% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Morton Grove, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
12% of Morton Grove works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Skokie (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Morton Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morton Grove | – | A− | A | 28 min | $111,116 |
| Niles | 3% | B | A+ | 28 min | $75,274 |
| Skokie | 6% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $95,337 |
| Glenview | 3% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Morton Grove’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 Morton Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Morton Grove?
$111,116 (±$8,932) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Morton Grove?
7.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Morton Grove?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Morton Grove work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (33%, 15 mi), Skokie (6%, 3 mi), Evanston (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Morton Grove walkable?
Morton Grove is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.9 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Morton Grove without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 55% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Morton Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Morton Grove
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.