Phoenix’s household incomes are among the lowest in the country
Jobs and income earn Phoenix C; getting around on foot earns it A+. Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. The poverty rate is 21.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Phoenix: the figures worth knowing
Phoenix and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Phoenix residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Phoenix come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Phoenix makes and builds things
56% of the jobs based in Phoenix are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Phoenix residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 10%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Phoenix pay better than its residents’ jobs
65% of the jobs based in Phoenix pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 49% of the jobs Phoenix residents hold. 98% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Phoenix. 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; with 608 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Phoenix’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Phoenix is better than 30% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Phoenix’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($30,288, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (22.6%) is left out: Phoenix’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Phoenix could be anywhere from C to C+.
32% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Phoenix clocks in
32% of workers
8% 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.
Making and building: 56% of jobs based in Phoenix
336 jobs are based in Phoenix.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Phoenix, 2013 → 2023: 83 → 336. 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 Phoenix’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Phoenix on a workday
On a workday 602 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 330 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Phoenix on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.55 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.
About 28 minutes each way, about the IL average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Phoenix workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 598 commuters (the 11% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Phoenix
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 Phoenix, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Phoenix is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Phoenix 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 671 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 86% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 9.9% of Phoenix households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Phoenix’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Phoenix ranks: 3,176th of 5,381 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,174 | Reade Township PA | 1,402 | $75K | 13.3% | 4.1% | 4% | C |
| 3,175 | Braintree VT | 1,226 | $80K | 11.1% | 5.0% | 3% | C |
| 3,176 | Phoenix IL | 1,646 | $30K | 21.5% | 22.6% | 1% | C |
| 3,177 | Quitman TX | 2,057 | $64K | 11.2% | 9.4% | 14% | C |
| 3,178 | Rich Township MI | 1,502 | $66K | 6.5% | 4.5% | 1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Phoenix, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
11% of Phoenix works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to South Holland (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Phoenix workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | – | C | A+ | 28 min | $30,288 |
| Harvey | 3% | C− | A+ | 30 min | $42,429 |
| South Holland | 8% | B− | A | 34 min | $85,280 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Phoenix’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 Phoenix: questions
What is the median household income in Phoenix?
$30,288 (±$12,916) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Phoenix?
21.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Phoenix?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Phoenix work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (32%, 16 mi), South Holland (8%, 2 mi), Harvey (3%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Phoenix walkable?
Phoenix is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Phoenix without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 86% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Phoenix, from the people who make the trip.
More of Phoenix
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.