Port Barrington has higher household incomes than 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Port Barrington is among the top U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (B). Poverty touches 2.7% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Hardly any work in Port Barrington; the top destination outside it is Chicago (11%, 38 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Port Barrington
Port Barrington is a place people come home to
There are 90 jobs based in Port Barrington, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Port Barrington has about 910 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Port Barrington’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Port Barrington is Chicago, 38 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (83) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Port Barrington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (30 to 33 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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; with 768 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Port Barrington’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Port Barrington is among the top U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Port Barrington’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (2.9%) is left out: Port Barrington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Port Barrington stays A+.
Who commutes out of Port Barrington, and who commutes in
On a workday 767 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 89 people come in from elsewhere.
About 910 people are in Port Barrington on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
0.12 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 2024, primary jobs.
How far Port Barrington’s workers travel
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.
From Port Barrington, about 37 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Barrington workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 624 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.
Out of Port Barrington to work: where people go
Where Port Barrington clocks in
11% of workers
5% 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.
Inside Port Barrington’s 90 jobs
90 jobs are based in Port Barrington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Barrington, 2014 → 2024: 20 → 90. 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 Port Barrington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Port Barrington, most people drive to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 815 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.9% of Port Barrington households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Port Barrington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Port Barrington ranks: 44th of 5,794 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 43 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| 44 | Port Barrington IL | 1,584 | $150K | 2.7% | 2.9% | <1% | A+ |
| 45 | Huntington Bay NY | 1,459 | $250K | 4.9% | 6.6% | <1% | A+ |
| 46 | Bartonville TX | 1,937 | $149K | 4.3% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 7% | 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 Port Barrington, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
How Port Barrington compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Port Barrington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Barrington | – | A+ | B | 37 min | $149,886 |
| Lake Barrington | under 2% | A− | B+ | 33 min | $141,958 |
| Cuba Township | under 2% | A | A− | 32 min | $154,263 |
| Algonquin Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 30 min | $110,071 |
| Wauconda Township | under 2% | A | B | 31 min | $112,337 |
| Island Lake | under 2% | B+ | C | 32 min | $103,156 |
| Nunda Township | under 2% | A− | B+ | 30 min | $109,574 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Port Barrington’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 Port Barrington: questions
What is the median household income in Port Barrington?
$149,886 (±$8,524) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Barrington?
2.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Barrington?
37 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Port Barrington work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (11%, 38 mi), Wauconda (5%, 4 mi), Crystal Lake (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Port Barrington walkable?
Port Barrington is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Port Barrington without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Barrington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Barrington
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.