Round Lake Heights has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Hardly any work in Round Lake Heights; the top destination outside it is Chicago (10%, 44 miles). Employers in Round Lake Heights report 241 jobs for 1,192 working residents. Round Lake Heights grades B for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Round Lake Heights apart
Round Lake Heights’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Round Lake Heights is Chicago, 44 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (114) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Round Lake Heights is a place people come home to
There are 241 jobs based in Round Lake Heights, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Round Lake Heights has about 1,600 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Round Lake Heights 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Round Lake Heights’ grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Round Lake Heights is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #454 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Round Lake Heights’ grade up (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Round Lake Heights could be anywhere from C to A.
How far Round Lake Heights’ 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.
A workday in Round Lake Heights: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,188 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 237 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Round Lake Heights on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Round Lake Heights’ commute takes about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Round Lake Heights workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,150 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where people from Round Lake Heights work
Where Round Lake Heights clocks in
10% 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.
Round Lake Heights is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Round Lake Heights, 2014 → 2024: 267 → 241. 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 Round Lake Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Round Lake Heights, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Round Lake Heights is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #475 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 1,256 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 40% 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 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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). 2.8% of Round Lake Heights households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Round Lake Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
1,946th of 5,083: where Round Lake Heights ranks among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,944 | Reed Creek GA | 3,151 | $77K | 9.4% | 0.9% | 2% | B |
| 1,945 | Kingston WA | 2,496 | $91K | 8.1% | 2.2% | 4% | B |
| 1,946 | Round Lake Heights IL | 2,580 | $79K | 14.5% | 4.1% | <1% | B |
| 1,947 | Saltcreek Township OH | 2,902 | $73K | 9.5% | 1.7% | 2% | B |
| 1,948 | Norwalk Township OH | 3,429 | $62K | 5.3% | 3.7% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Round Lake Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to Round Lake Heights
The biggest share goes to Round Lake Beach (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Round Lake Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round Lake Heights | – | B | B | 34 min | $78,986 |
| Long Lake | under 3% | B | A− | 33 min | $104,621 |
| Round Lake Beach | 3% | B− | A− | 30 min | $86,059 |
| Lake Villa | 2% | A | B | 34 min | $118,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Round Lake 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 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 Round Lake Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Round Lake Heights?
$78,986 (±$10,067) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Round Lake Heights?
14.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Round Lake Heights?
34 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Round Lake Heights work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (10%, 44 mi), Waukegan (5%, 12 mi), Libertyville (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Round Lake Heights walkable?
Round Lake Heights is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Round Lake Heights without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Round Lake Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Round Lake Heights
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.