Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Olympia Fields are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 13.7% (Illinois 11.8%). Olympia Fields grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Olympia Fields and work: the main findings
Olympia Fields workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 115 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (30 to 34 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Olympia Fields is where the jobs are
Olympia Fields has 3,855 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 6,700 people are in town, 46% more than the 4,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Olympia Fields has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Olympia Fields went from 2,181 in 2013 to 3,855 in 2023, +77%. The jobs ↓
Olympia Fields and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Olympia Fields residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Olympia Fields come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The biggest group of Olympia Fields’ workers comes from Chicago
383 of the people who work in Olympia Fields live in Chicago, 22 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Olympia Fields
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Olympia Fields is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #368 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Olympia Fields’ grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Olympia Fields could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
Time on the road from Olympia Fields: about 43 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Olympia Fields workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,581 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Olympia Fields
On a workday 1,694 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 3,805 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,700 people are in Olympia Fields on a workday afternoon, 46% more than live here.
2.2 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Olympia Fields
3,855 jobs are based in Olympia Fields.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Olympia Fields, 2013 → 2023: 2,181 → 3,855. 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 Olympia Fields’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Olympia Fields live
Where Olympia Fields clocks in
32% of workers
3% 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 far Olympia Fields’ 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.
In Olympia Fields, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Olympia Fields is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #66 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Olympia Fields 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 1,993 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 8.8% of Olympia Fields households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 9% of Olympia Fields’ commuters take a bus or train.
Olympia Fields is 1,392nd of 3,938 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | South Barrington IL | 5,071 | $222K | 1.0% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,390 | Greene ME | 4,551 | $98K | 13.9% | 0.1% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,391 | Perry Township OH | 5,908 | $76K | 12.6% | 2.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,392 | Olympia Fields IL | 4,593 | $124K | 13.7% | 5.9% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,393 | Sunset Beach NC | 4,642 | $82K | 5.7% | 0.7% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,394 | Bridgeport PA | 5,758 | $83K | 18.2% | 3.1% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Olympia Fields, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Olympia Fields
The biggest share goes to Chicago Heights (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Olympia Fields workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympia Fields | – | B+ | A+ | 43 min | $123,875 |
| Chicago Heights | 3% | C− | A | 30 min | $54,798 |
| Flossmoor | under 2% | A− | A | 33 min | $133,663 |
| Park Forest | 1% | C | A | 32 min | $61,072 |
| Matteson | 3% | B | A− | 34 min | $95,457 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Olympia Fields’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 Olympia Fields: questions
What is the median household income in Olympia Fields?
$123,875 (±$32,426) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Olympia Fields?
13.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Olympia Fields?
43 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Olympia Fields work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (32%, 22 mi), Matteson (3%, 3 mi), Chicago Heights (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Olympia Fields walkable?
Olympia Fields is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Olympia Fields without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Olympia Fields, from the people who make the trip.
More of Olympia Fields
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.