George Clayson House · Photo: G LeTourneau · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Palatine have higher incomes than those in 75% of U.S. towns
Palatine grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 8.2% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.9 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
Where Palatine stands out on work
Palatine’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Palatine is Chicago, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (5,267) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Palatine draws workers from far and wide
The 21,337 jobs in Palatine are filled from a wide area. Palatine’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Palatine
68% of Palatine residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 50% of the jobs based in Palatine pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. 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 Palatine’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Palatine is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #229 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 (4.1%, 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 could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The commute from Palatine, by distance
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.
16% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Palatine clocks in
16% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
What Palatine’s employers do
21,337 jobs are based in Palatine.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Palatine, 2013 → 2023: 21,460 → 21,337. 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 Palatine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Palatine, and who commutes in
On a workday 30,181 residents head out to work, 2,672 work right here, and 18,665 people come in from elsewhere.
About 54,000 people are in Palatine on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.65 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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 from Palatine: about 28 minutes a trip
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 workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28,828 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Palatine
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Palatine is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #207 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Palatine 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 36,323 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 4.7% of Palatine households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Palatine’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Palatine is 194th among 669 U.S. towns of 46,000 to 89,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | New Trier Township IL | 56,118 | $216K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Vernon Township IL | 71,353 | $146K | 6.3% | 2.4% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Ela Township IL | 46,385 | $174K | 2.7% | 4.1% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 192 | Lake Forest CA | 86,333 | $135K | 8.5% | 4.9% | 8% | A− |
| 193 | Union City CA | 65,282 | $134K | 7.2% | 5.3% | 8% | A− |
| 194 | Palatine IL | 65,842 | $98K | 8.2% | 4.1% | 8% | A− |
| 195 | Union Township NJ | 63,675 | $119K | 6.7% | 5.9% | 7% | A− |
| 196 | Palm Beach Gardens FL | 63,883 | $107K | 7.2% | 3.9% | 17% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 669 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Palatine and its neighbors: 14% work next door
The biggest share goes to Schaumburg (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Palatine workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palatine | – | A− | A− | 28 min | $97,819 |
| Rolling Meadows | 3% | A− | A− | 26 min | $98,514 |
| Inverness | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 26 min | $207,434 |
| Arlington Heights | 5% | A | A | 28 min | $116,723 |
| Schaumburg | 6% | A | A | 28 min | $97,514 |
| Deer Park | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $174,458 |
| Palatine Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 27 min | $104,916 |
| Wheeling Township | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $106,026 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Palatine’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 Palatine: questions
What is the median household income in Palatine?
$97,819 (±$4,650) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Palatine?
8.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Palatine?
28 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 work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (16%, 27 mi), Schaumburg (6%, 6 mi), Arlington Heights (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Palatine walkable?
Palatine is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Palatine without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Palatine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Palatine
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.