Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as New Trier Township’s
Poverty touches 2.9% of residents; Illinois has 11.8%. Measured by household income, New Trier Township is among the highest-earning towns in the country. For jobs and income New Trier Township is better than 97% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in New Trier Township: the figures worth knowing
A lot of New Trier Township works from home
34% of New Trier Township workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
43% of New Trier Township works in Chicago
10,700 working residents, 43%, have their main job in Chicago, 19 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in New Trier Township itself. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in New Trier Township is services
89% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
New Trier Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 46 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.
The figures behind New Trier Township’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($215,916, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Trier Township could be anywhere from A to A+.
Time on the road from New Trier Township: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Trier Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,394 commuters (the 34% 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.
43% of working residents work in Chicago
Where New Trier Township clocks in
43% of workers
5% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in New Trier Township
16,601 jobs are based in New Trier Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Trier Township, 2013 → 2023: 16,454 → 16,601. 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 New Trier Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
New Trier Township by day and by night
On a workday 22,234 residents head out to work, 2,394 work right here, and 14,207 people come in from elsewhere.
About 48,000 people are in New Trier Township on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.67 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
New Trier Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: New Trier Township
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Trier Township is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #7 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place New Trier Township 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 23,300 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 41% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 3.9% of New Trier Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 21% of New Trier Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, New Trier Township is 21st of 797 U.S. towns of 39,000 to 76,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Oswego IL | 39,948 | $124K | 2.6% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Milton GA | 41,266 | $171K | 4.3% | 2.8% | 5% | A+ |
| 20 | Erie CO | 40,904 | $173K | 2.3% | 3.1% | 5% | A+ |
| 21 | New Trier Township IL | 56,118 | $216K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 10% | A+ |
| 22 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| 23 | Potomac MD | 45,902 | $237K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 797 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 New Trier Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
15% of New Trier Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Evanston (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Trier Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Trier Township | – | A+ | A+ | 34 min | $215,916 |
| Winnetka | 3% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $250,000+ |
| Glencoe | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 36 min | $248,933 |
| Wilmette | 4% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $190,662 |
| Northfield Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 27 min | $136,617 |
| Evanston | 5% | B | A+ | 28 min | $96,434 |
| Niles Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $97,280 |
| Kenilworth | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Skokie | 2% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $95,337 |
| Highland Park | 1% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $168,094 |
| Moraine Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 28 min | $153,798 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New Trier Township’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 New Trier Township: questions
What is the median household income in New Trier Township?
$215,916 (±$13,959) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Trier Township?
2.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Trier Township?
34 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Trier Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (43%, 18 mi), Evanston (5%, 5 mi), Wilmette (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Trier Township walkable?
New Trier Township is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 26% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Trier Township without a car?
21% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 41% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Trier Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Trier Township
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.