Households in Shields Township have higher incomes than those in 85% of U.S. towns
9.8% of residents are in poverty; Illinois has 11.8%. Shields Township grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Shields Township: the figures worth knowing
Shields Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Shields Township is Chicago, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 26% of working residents (3,106) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Shields Township
30% of Shields Township workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Shields Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 28 across Illinois. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Illinois worker. Time on the road ↓
Shields Township draws workers from far and wide
The 17,916 jobs in Shields Township are filled from a wide area. Shields Township’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
The figures behind Shields Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shields Township is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #310 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Shields Township’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shields Township could be anywhere from B to A.
Short hops and long hauls from Shields Township
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.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Shields Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shields Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,634 commuters (the 30% 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.
26% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Shields Township clocks in
26% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
How a workday changes Shields Township
On a workday 10,587 residents head out to work, 1,529 work right here, and 16,387 people come in from elsewhere.
About 47,000 people are in Shields Township on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 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.
Shields Township is a services town
17,916 jobs are based in Shields Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shields Township, 2013 → 2023: 17,427 → 17,916. 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 Shields Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Shields Township
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shields Township is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #48 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Shields Township 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 20,824 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 60% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 5.9% of Shields Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Shields Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
462nd of 1,037: where Shields Township ranks among U.S. towns of 29,000 to 56,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | New Lenox Township IL | 45,290 | $133K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 460 | Independence KY | 30,198 | $102K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 4% | B+ |
| 461 | Liberty MO | 31,319 | $89K | 7.0% | 4.5% | 18% | B+ |
| 462 | Shields Township IL | 41,282 | $113K | 9.8% | 5.4% | 13% | B+ |
| 463 | Milford MA | 30,832 | $96K | 7.6% | 5.0% | 16% | B+ |
| 464 | Rye NY | 50,011 | $108K | 10.1% | 5.5% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,037 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Shields Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
17% of Shields Township works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Lake Forest (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shields Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shields Township | – | B+ | A+ | 21 min | $112,865 |
| Lake Forest | 7% | A+ | A | 31 min | $235,081 |
| Lake Bluff | 3% | A+ | A | 28 min | $204,000 |
| North Chicago | 4% | C | A+ | 17 min | $60,172 |
| Libertyville Township | 3% | A | A | 26 min | $134,398 |
| Waukegan Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Green Oaks | under 2% | A− | B+ | 31 min | $147,614 |
| Moraine Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 28 min | $153,798 |
| West Deerfield Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 29 min | $204,915 |
Same-state neighbors only. Waukegan Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shields Township’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 Shields Township: questions
What is the median household income in Shields Township?
$112,865 (±$11,387) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shields Township?
9.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shields Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shields Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (26%, 32 mi), Lake Forest (7%, 3 mi), North Chicago (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shields Township walkable?
Shields Township is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 36% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shields Township without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shields Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shields Township
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.