Palatine Township has higher household incomes than 80% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 7.2% of residents; Illinois has 11.8%. Palatine Township grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Palatine Township: the gist
Palatine Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Palatine Township is Chicago, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (8,906) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Palatine Township draws workers from far and wide
The 40,388 jobs in Palatine Township are filled from a wide area. Palatine Township’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Palatine Township’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palatine Township is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #188 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, 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, Palatine Township could be anywhere from A− to A.
Where in the region Palatine Township works
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
17% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Palatine Township clocks in
17% of workers
6% 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.
Who leaves Palatine Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 48,258 residents head out to work, 5,584 work right here, and 34,804 people come in from elsewhere.
About 98,000 people are in Palatine Township on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
What Palatine Township’s employers do
40,388 jobs are based in Palatine Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palatine Township, 2014 → 2024: 44,569 → 40,388. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palatine Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Palatine Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Palatine Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 46,734 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.
Palatine Township is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palatine Township is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #226 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Palatine 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 59,250 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 18% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 4.2% of Palatine Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Palatine Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Palatine Township places 67th of 378 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 78,000 to 150,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Northfield Township IL | 89,835 | $137K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | York Township IL | 128,137 | $112K | 6.1% | 5.0% | 18% | A− |
| 66 | Edison Township NJ | 109,077 | $125K | 4.7% | 6.2% | 15% | A− |
| 67 | Palatine Township IL | 111,179 | $105K | 7.2% | 4.2% | 10% | A− |
| 68 | San Mateo CA | 103,337 | $154K | 8.2% | 4.6% | 12% | A− |
| 69 | Westminster CO | 116,182 | $100K | 7.3% | 3.7% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 378 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 Palatine Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 16% of Palatine Township
The biggest share goes to Palatine (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palatine Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine Township | – | A− | A− | 27 min | $104,916 |
| Barrington Township | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $183,663 |
| Wheeling Township | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $106,026 |
| Arlington Heights | 5% | A | A | 28 min | $116,723 |
| Palatine | 6% | A− | A− | 28 min | $97,819 |
| Hoffman Estates | 2% | A− | A− | 29 min | $106,806 |
| Schaumburg Township | under 2% | A | A | 28 min | $99,298 |
| Inverness | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 26 min | $207,434 |
| Ela Township | under 2% | A+ | A− | 31 min | $173,916 |
| Rolling Meadows | 3% | A− | A− | 26 min | $98,514 |
| Barrington | under 2% | A+ | A | 31 min | $147,989 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palatine 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 2024, 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 Palatine Township: questions
What is the median household income in Palatine Township?
$104,916 (±$5,437) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palatine Township?
7.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palatine Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Palatine Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 27 mi), Palatine (6%, 1 mi), Schaumburg (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Palatine Township walkable?
Palatine Township is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palatine Township without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palatine Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palatine Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.