Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in South Elgin top those of 91% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income South Elgin is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (B+). Below the poverty line: 6.4% of residents, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Only 4% work in South Elgin itself; outside it, Elgin draws the most (14%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
South Elgin and work: the main findings
South Elgin makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in South Elgin are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs South Elgin residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
South Elgin draws workers from far and wide
The 7,180 jobs in South Elgin are filled from a wide area. South Elgin’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 37%; the other 56% 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.
Inside South Elgin’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.1%, 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, South Elgin could be anywhere from A− to A+.
South Elgin makes things: 38% of its jobs are in goods
7,180 jobs are based in South Elgin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Elgin, 2013 → 2023: 5,801 → 7,180. 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 South Elgin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of South Elgin: the destinations
Where South Elgin clocks in
14% of workers
10% of workers
6% 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.
Who works in South Elgin, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 11,360 residents head out to work, 526 work right here, and 6,654 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in South Elgin on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
A commute of about 28 minutes in South Elgin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Elgin workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,196 commuters (the 15% 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 in the region South Elgin works
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.
Most trips from South Elgin start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 13,238 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 54% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 8.1% of South Elgin households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of South Elgin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000, South Elgin ranks 196th of 1,576 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 194 | Eldersburg MD | 31,695 | $143K | 4.7% | 3.1% | 11% | A |
| 195 | Louisville CO | 20,581 | $147K | 4.5% | 3.6% | 11% | A |
| 196 | South Elgin IL | 25,656 | $127K | 6.4% | 3.1% | 4% | A |
| 197 | McCandless Township PA | 28,439 | $111K | 3.9% | 3.1% | 10% | A |
| 198 | Mansfield MA | 24,236 | $125K | 4.7% | 3.4% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 South Elgin, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
16% of South Elgin works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Elgin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Elgin | – | A | B+ | 28 min | $127,203 |
| Elgin | 14% | B | A | 28 min | $90,282 |
| Elgin Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| St. Charles Township | under 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $128,204 |
| Bartlett | 2% | A+ | B | 30 min | $133,240 |
Same-state neighbors only. Elgin Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Elgin. Darker towns draw more of South Elgin’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 South Elgin: questions
What is the median household income in South Elgin?
$127,203 (±$9,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Elgin?
6.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Elgin?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Elgin work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elgin (14%, 3 mi), Chicago (10%, 34 mi), St. Charles (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is South Elgin walkable?
South Elgin is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Elgin without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Elgin, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Elgin
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.