Household incomes in Prospect Heights are higher than in 62% of U.S. towns
7.3% of residents are in poverty (Illinois 11.8%). For jobs and income Prospect Heights is better than 82% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (B+). Commuters spend 26 minutes getting to work on average; the Illinois average is 28, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Prospect Heights at work: what stands out
Prospect Heights trades workers with the towns around it
Prospect Heights has about as many jobs (6,667) as working residents (6,904), but they are mostly different people: 6,685 residents leave for work each day while 6,448 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Prospect Heights are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Prospect Heights
64% of Prospect Heights residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Prospect Heights pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Prospect Heights draws workers from far and wide
The 6,667 jobs in Prospect Heights are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 32%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Prospect Heights and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Prospect Heights residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Prospect Heights come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Prospect Heights has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Prospect Heights went from 4,654 in 2013 to 6,667 in 2023, +43%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Prospect Heights’ grade
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 (3.5%, 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, Prospect Heights could be anywhere from B to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Prospect Heights
On a workday 6,685 residents head out to work, 219 work right here, and 6,448 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 (0.97 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.
What the 6,667 jobs in Prospect Heights are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Prospect Heights, 2013 → 2023: 4,654 → 6,667. 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 Prospect Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
17% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Prospect Heights clocks in
17% 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.
Prospect Heights’ commute takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Prospect Heights workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,334 commuters (the 19% 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.
How far it is to work from Prospect Heights
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.
Few in Prospect Heights walk, bike or ride to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,007 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 7.6% of Prospect Heights households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Prospect Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
Prospect Heights next to U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000: 627th of 2,109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 625 | Eureka MO | 13,422 | $108K | 7.9% | 3.4% | 8% | A− |
| 626 | Miami Shores FL | 11,669 | $144K | 7.6% | 5.4% | 5% | A− |
| 627 | Prospect Heights IL | 15,552 | $85K | 7.3% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| 628 | Texas Township MI | 18,864 | $147K | 2.5% | 5.4% | 5% | A− |
| 629 | West Deer Township PA | 12,301 | $95K | 8.2% | 2.7% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Prospect Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Bordering towns draw 17% of Prospect Heights’ workers
The biggest share goes to Arlington Heights (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Prospect Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prospect Heights | – | A− | B+ | 26 min | $85,008 |
| Arlington Heights | 5% | A | A | 28 min | $116,723 |
| Wheeling | 5% | B+ | A | 26 min | $85,205 |
| Mount Prospect | 3% | A | A | 26 min | $101,720 |
| Glenview | 4% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Prospect Heights’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 Prospect Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Prospect Heights?
$85,008 (±$9,056) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Prospect Heights?
7.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Prospect Heights?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Prospect Heights work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 22 mi), Wheeling (5%, 2 mi), Arlington Heights (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Prospect Heights walkable?
Prospect Heights is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Prospect Heights without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Prospect Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Prospect Heights
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.