Photo: Miroslaw Mucha · Public domainMore people are out of work in Niles (6.7%) than in 80% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Niles for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (30%, 15 miles). Niles grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 28 minutes, next to 28 for Illinois and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Niles: the gist
A lot of Niles works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Niles: Chicago (30%), Skokie (4%) and Park Ridge (3%). Next door ↓
Niles is where the jobs are
Niles has 21,370 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in Niles are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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.
Inside Niles’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Niles is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #419 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Niles’ grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Niles could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Who works in Niles, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 13,041 residents head out to work, 1,015 work right here, and 20,355 people come in from elsewhere.
About 38,000 people are in Niles on a workday afternoon, 24% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
What Niles’ employers do
21,370 jobs are based in Niles.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Niles, 2013 → 2023: 20,139 → 21,370. 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 Niles’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who travels to work in Niles, and from where
Where Niles clocks in
30% 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.
Getting to work from Niles takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Niles workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,561 commuters (the 11% 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.
Miles to work from Niles
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.
Niles is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,933 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, 94% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 13.9% of Niles households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Niles’ commuters take a bus or train.
Niles places 816th of 1,415 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 21,000 to 41,000
| # | 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Geneva IL | 21,138 | $144K | 3.8% | 1.8% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 814 | Christiansburg VA | 22,442 | $77K | 11.7% | 2.4% | 24% | B |
| 815 | Navarre FL | 39,838 | $105K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 12% | B |
| 816 | Niles IL | 30,443 | $75K | 8.5% | 6.7% | 7% | B |
| 817 | Southgate MI | 28,931 | $66K | 9.4% | 4.2% | 6% | B |
| 818 | Owatonna MN | 26,633 | $81K | 9.2% | 3.6% | 56% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,415 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Niles, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 42% of Niles
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Niles workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles | – | B | A+ | 28 min | $75,274 |
| Morton Grove | 2% | A− | A | 28 min | $111,116 |
| Chicago | 30% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Niles Township | under 3% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $97,280 |
| Park Ridge | 3% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $142,986 |
| Glenview | 3% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
| Skokie | 4% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $95,337 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Chicago. Darker towns draw more of Niles’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 Niles: questions
What is the median household income in Niles?
$75,274 (±$8,113) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Niles?
8.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Niles?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Niles work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (30%, 15 mi), Skokie (4%, 4 mi), Glenview (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Niles walkable?
Niles is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.6 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Niles without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 94% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Niles, from the people who make the trip.
More of Niles
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.