Northfield Township’s household incomes are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 7.1%, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Jobs and income earn Northfield Township A; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Northfield Township apart on work
Northfield Township is where the jobs are
Northfield Township has 73,221 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Northfield Township and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Northfield Township residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Northfield Township come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Northfield Township
27% of Northfield Township workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Northfield Township draws workers from far and wide
The 73,221 jobs in Northfield Township are filled from a wide area. Northfield Township’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The biggest group of Northfield Township’s workers comes from Chicago
13,628 of the people who work in Northfield Township live in Chicago, 20 miles away, more than from any other town. 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 Northfield Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northfield Township is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #101 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.5%, 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, Northfield Township could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Northfield Township
On a workday 32,950 residents head out to work, 6,464 work right here, and 66,757 people come in from elsewhere.
About 124,000 people are in Northfield Township on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
1.9 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.
Where Northfield Township’s workforce comes from
Where Northfield Township clocks in
28% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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 Northfield Township takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northfield Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29,771 commuters (the 27% 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.
68% of the jobs in Northfield Township pay over $3,333 a month
73,221 jobs are based in Northfield Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northfield Township, 2013 → 2023: 79,809 → 73,221. 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 Northfield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Northfield Township’s workers travel
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: Northfield Township
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northfield Township is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #55 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Northfield 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 40,800 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 66% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 6.0% of Northfield Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Northfield Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 63,000 to 121,000, Northfield Township ranks 41st of 497 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Vernon Township IL | 71,353 | $146K | 6.3% | 2.4% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Arlington Heights IL | 76,216 | $117K | 6.0% | 3.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | O'Fallon MO | 96,101 | $110K | 5.4% | 2.7% | 15% | A |
| 40 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 15% | A |
| 41 | Northfield Township IL | 89,835 | $137K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| 42 | Palo Alto CA | 67,609 | $231K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 43 | Centennial CO | 108,658 | $132K | 3.3% | 4.6% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 497 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Northfield Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
17% of Northfield Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Northbrook (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northfield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Township | – | A | A+ | 27 min | $136,617 |
| New Trier Township | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 34 min | $215,916 |
| Wheeling Township | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $106,026 |
| Niles Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $97,280 |
| Northbrook | 8% | A+ | A+ | 27 min | $157,782 |
| Des Plaines | 2% | A | A | 28 min | $97,875 |
| Moraine Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 28 min | $153,798 |
| Glencoe | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 36 min | $248,933 |
| Wheeling | under 2% | B+ | A | 26 min | $85,205 |
| Glenview | 7% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
| West Deerfield Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 29 min | $204,915 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northfield 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 Northfield Township: questions
What is the median household income in Northfield Township?
$136,617 (±$5,885) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northfield Township?
7.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northfield Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northfield Township work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (28%, 20 mi), Northbrook (8%, 1 mi), Glenview (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northfield Township walkable?
Northfield Township is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.8 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northfield Township without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northfield Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northfield 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.