Photo: Dima Sergiyenko; Please attribute this image as the work of "DiscoverWithDima." · CC BY-SA 4.0Oak Brook has higher household incomes than 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. 6.6% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. The two grades for Oak Brook 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 Oak Brook apart on work
Oak Brook fills up on a workday
Oak Brook has 42,709 jobs, 13.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 48,000 people are in town, 6 times the 8,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Oak Brook and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Oak Brook residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Oak Brook come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Oak Brook draws workers from far and wide
The 42,709 jobs in Oak Brook are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 32%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Oak Brook pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Oak Brook pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
The figures behind Oak Brook’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oak Brook is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #271 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Oak Brook’s grade up (among the top U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (10.0%, 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, Oak Brook could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Who works in Oak Brook, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,964 residents head out to work, 220 work right here, and 42,489 people come in from elsewhere.
About 48,000 people are in Oak Brook on a workday afternoon, 487% more than live here.
13.4 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.
Commuting in to Oak Brook: where workers come from
Where Oak Brook clocks in
22% 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.
72% of the jobs in Oak Brook pay over $3,333 a month
42,709 jobs are based in Oak Brook.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oak Brook, 2013 → 2023: 37,101 → 42,709. 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 Oak Brook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Oak Brook takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oak Brook workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,249 commuters (the 21% 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.
How far Oak Brook’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: Oak Brook
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oak Brook is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #188 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Oak Brook 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 2,843 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 25% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 5.0% of Oak Brook households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Oak Brook’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,700 to 10,900, Oak Brook ranks 887th of 2,966 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 885 | Coeymans NY | 7,319 | $95K | 4.8% | 3.6% | 9% | A− |
| 886 | Dacula GA | 9,373 | $101K | 6.6% | 4.8% | 2% | A− |
| 887 | Oak Brook IL | 8,108 | $176K | 6.6% | 10.0% | 7% | A− |
| 888 | St. Joseph MI | 7,893 | $84K | 7.3% | 2.0% | 16% | A− |
| 889 | Duvall WA | 9,440 | $197K | 12.8% | 2.5% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,966 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Oak Brook, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
17% of Oak Brook works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Downers Grove (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oak Brook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Brook | – | A− | A | 32 min | $175,870 |
| Hinsdale | 2% | A+ | A+ | 32 min | $250,000+ |
| Oakbrook Terrace | 3% | A | A | 27 min | $76,905 |
| Westmont | 3% | A− | A | 27 min | $88,090 |
| Lombard | 2% | A− | A | 26 min | $100,362 |
| York Township | under 2% | A− | A | 27 min | $112,233 |
| Downers Grove | 4% | A | A+ | 28 min | $115,114 |
| Proviso Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 29 min | $82,097 |
| Elmhurst | 3% | A | A+ | 29 min | $149,644 |
| Downers Grove Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $117,335 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oak Brook’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 Oak Brook: questions
What is the median household income in Oak Brook?
$175,870 (±$13,613) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oak Brook?
6.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oak Brook?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oak Brook work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (22%, 14 mi), Downers Grove (4%, 4 mi), Elmhurst (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oak Brook walkable?
Oak Brook is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oak Brook without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oak Brook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oak Brook
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.