Photo: Kelly Martin · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Park Ridge top those of 94% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. The poverty rate is 2.9% (Illinois 11.8%). Park Ridge grades 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
Work in Park Ridge: the figures worth knowing
Park Ridge trades workers with the towns around it
Park Ridge has about as many jobs (17,594) as working residents (17,817), but they are mostly different people: 16,084 residents leave for work each day while 15,861 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Park Ridge are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Park Ridge works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Park Ridge: Chicago (33%), Des Plaines (4%) and Niles (2%). Next door ↓
Nearly all the work in Park Ridge is services
90% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
A lot of Park Ridge works from home
24% of Park Ridge workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Park Ridge’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Park Ridge is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #49 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (among the top 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, Park Ridge could be anywhere from A to A+.
Park Ridge on a workday afternoon
On a workday 16,084 residents head out to work, 1,733 work right here, and 15,861 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Park Ridge
17,594 jobs are based in Park Ridge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Park Ridge, 2013 → 2023: 16,861 → 17,594. 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 Park Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Park Ridge: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Park Ridge workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,825 commuters (the 23% 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.
33% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Park Ridge clocks in
33% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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 it is to work from Park Ridge
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.
Park Ridge is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Park Ridge is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #19 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Park Ridge 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 19,368 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 4.6% of Park Ridge households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 11% of Park Ridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
Park Ridge places 70th of 1,113 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 69 | Ela Township IL | 46,385 | $174K | 2.7% | 4.1% | 10% | A+ |
| 70 | Park Ridge IL | 38,463 | $143K | 2.9% | 4.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 71 | Oak Creek WI | 38,296 | $97K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 72 | Pittsford NY | 30,588 | $146K | 3.7% | 3.1% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Park Ridge, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
41% of Park Ridge works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Chicago (33%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Park Ridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Ridge | – | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $142,986 |
| Chicago | 33% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Maine Township | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $98,291 |
| Niles | 2% | B | A+ | 28 min | $75,274 |
| Des Plaines | 4% | A | A | 28 min | $97,875 |
| Norwood Park Township | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $90,376 |
| Leyden Township | under 2% | B+ | A | 29 min | $79,935 |
| Rosemont | 2% | B | A+ | 23 min | $63,517 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Park Ridge’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 Park Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Park Ridge?
$142,986 (±$19,109) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Park Ridge?
2.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Park Ridge?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Park Ridge work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (33%, 15 mi), Des Plaines (4%, 3 mi), Schaumburg (2%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Park Ridge walkable?
Park Ridge is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.2 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Park Ridge without a car?
11% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Park Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Park Ridge
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.