Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0Naperville’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. 4.4% of residents live below the poverty line, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. For jobs and income Naperville is better than 92% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Naperville at work: what stands out
A lot of Naperville works from home
31% of Naperville workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Naperville’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Naperville is Chicago, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (12,666) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Naperville draws workers from far and wide
The 82,197 jobs in Naperville are filled from a wide area. Naperville’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 56% 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.
Why Naperville gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income holds Naperville’s grade up ($155,105, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Naperville stays A.
About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Naperville workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 52,222 commuters (the 31% 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 Naperville
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.
19% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Naperville clocks in
19% of workers
4% 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.
How a workday changes Naperville
On a workday 56,527 residents head out to work, 11,504 work right here, and 70,693 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 (1.21 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.
What Naperville’s employers do
82,197 jobs are based in Naperville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Naperville, 2013 → 2023: 71,930 → 82,197. 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 Naperville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Naperville is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 75,830 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 30% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 3.8% of Naperville households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Naperville’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Naperville is 6th of 228 U.S. towns of 107,000 to 207,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| 4 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| 5 | Huntington NY | 205,891 | $168K | 5.0% | 4.3% | 23% | A |
| 6 | Naperville IL | 153,114 | $155K | 4.4% | 4.5% | 17% | A |
| 7 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 8 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Downers Grove Township IL | 149,599 | $117K | 6.2% | 4.3% | 14% | A |
| 21 | Schaumburg Township IL | 131,411 | $99K | 6.7% | 3.4% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 228 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Naperville, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Naperville compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Aurora (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Naperville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naperville | – | A | A | 31 min | $155,105 |
| Warrenville | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $100,321 |
| Lisle | 3% | A | A | 28 min | $107,479 |
| Bolingbrook | 2% | B+ | A− | 30 min | $108,400 |
| Aurora | 4% | B+ | A | 27 min | $93,633 |
| Plainfield | under 2% | A | B+ | 33 min | $144,000 |
| Naperville Township | under 2% | A− | A | 31 min | $120,026 |
| Winfield Township | under 2% | B | A− | 27 min | $103,183 |
| Lisle Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $118,712 |
| Milton Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 27 min | $121,087 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Naperville’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 Naperville: questions
What is the median household income in Naperville?
$155,105 (±$4,387) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Naperville?
4.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Naperville?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Naperville work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (19%, 25 mi), Aurora (4%, 7 mi), Downers Grove (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Naperville walkable?
Naperville is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Naperville without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Naperville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Naperville
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.