Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Riverdale are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. Poverty touches 41.5% of residents, against 11.8% across Illinois. Riverdale grades C− 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
The commute and the jobs: Riverdale in brief
Riverdale and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Riverdale residents (37%) and also where the most people who work in Riverdale come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Riverdale pay better than its residents’ jobs
70% of the jobs based in Riverdale pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 49% of the jobs Riverdale residents hold. 94% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Riverdale. The jobs ↓
Riverdale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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.
Where Riverdale’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riverdale is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #715 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Riverdale’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Riverdale stays C−.
37% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Riverdale clocks in
37% of workers
3% 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.
29% of the jobs in Riverdale make or build things
1,331 jobs are based in Riverdale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverdale, 2013 → 2023: 1,332 → 1,331. 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 Riverdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 34 minutes in Riverdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverdale workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,021 commuters (the 12% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Riverdale
On a workday 3,784 residents head out to work, 74 work right here, and 1,257 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,800 people are in Riverdale on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.34 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Riverdale
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Riverdale
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riverdale is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #24 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Riverdale 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 3,417 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, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 21.2% of Riverdale households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 17% of Riverdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000, Riverdale ranks 2,561st of 2,878 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,559 | Malvern AR | 11,144 | $46K | 20.2% | 5.6% | 23% | C− |
| 2,560 | Beaver Falls PA | 8,832 | $50K | 20.9% | 9.5% | 12% | C− |
| 2,561 | Riverdale IL | 10,280 | $40K | 41.5% | 16.1% | 2% | C− |
| 2,562 | Three Rivers MI | 7,910 | $50K | 15.0% | 10.2% | 22% | C− |
| 2,563 | Sault Ste. Marie MI | 13,083 | $55K | 17.8% | 4.9% | 60% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Riverdale, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
38% of Riverdale works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Chicago (37%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Riverdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | – | C− | A+ | 34 min | $39,833 |
| Calumet Township | under 2% | C− | A+ | 33 min | $49,861 |
| Chicago | 37% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Blue Island | under 2% | C | A+ | 29 min | $59,489 |
| Dixmoor | under 2% | C− | A+ | 23 min | $44,600 |
| Thornton Township | under 2% | C | A+ | 32 min | $58,534 |
| Dolton | 1% | C | A+ | 31 min | $57,887 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Riverdale’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 Riverdale: questions
What is the median household income in Riverdale?
$39,833 (±$7,683) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverdale?
41.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverdale?
34 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverdale work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (37%, 14 mi), South Holland (3%, 4 mi), Harvey (2%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riverdale walkable?
Riverdale is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverdale without a car?
17% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverdale
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.