Photo: Nmaviano · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Riverside earn more than those in 95% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Below the poverty line: 3.3% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Jobs and income earn Riverside A+; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Riverside at work: what stands out
Riverside and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Riverside residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Riverside come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Riverside
28% of Riverside workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Riverside workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Riverside empties out on a workday
About 5,900 people are in Riverside on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than the 8,900 who live here: 4,300 head out to work and 1,200 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Riverside
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riverside is among the top U.S. towns, #5 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Riverside’s grade. 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, Riverside could be anywhere from A to A+.
39% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Riverside clocks in
39% of workers
2% 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.
About 33 minutes each way for Riverside’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverside workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,209 commuters (the 28% 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.
Who leaves Riverside for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,286 residents head out to work, 173 work right here, and 1,241 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,900 people are in Riverside on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.32 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.
Most jobs in Riverside are in services
1,414 jobs are based in Riverside.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverside, 2013 → 2023: 1,442 → 1,414. 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 Riverside’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Riverside
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.
Riverside is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Riverside is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #34 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Riverside 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 4,476 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 23% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 5.2% of Riverside households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 17% of Riverside’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Riverside is 23rd of 2,862 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Belmont VA | 9,729 | $243K | 2.1% | 1.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 22 | Piedmont CA | 10,642 | $250K | 4.3% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 23 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| 24 | Madeira OH | 9,637 | $168K | 2.5% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 25 | Alamo Heights TX | 7,632 | $183K | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Lincolnshire IL | 7,963 | $186K | 5.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,862 | 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 Riverside, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Riverside: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Brookfield (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Riverside workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | – | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $153,686 |
| Lyons | under 2% | B | A+ | 28 min | $70,993 |
| Riverside Township | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $121,944 |
| North Riverside | under 2% | A− | A | 29 min | $77,170 |
| Lyons Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 30 min | $92,619 |
| Brookfield | 1% | A | A+ | 33 min | $110,295 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Riverside’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 Riverside: questions
What is the median household income in Riverside?
$153,686 (±$18,589) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverside?
3.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverside?
33 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverside work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (39%, 7 mi), Maywood (2%, 4 mi), Oak Brook (2%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Riverside walkable?
Riverside is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverside without a car?
17% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 23% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverside, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverside
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.