Photo: Keybdn at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in St. Charles have higher incomes than those in 86% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Poverty touches 4.4% of residents (Illinois 11.8%). The two grades for St. Charles are A 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 work figures that set St. Charles apart
St. Charles’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside St. Charles is Chicago, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (2,170) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
St. Charles draws workers from far and wide
The 23,412 jobs in St. Charles are filled from a wide area. St. Charles’ own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
St. Charles gains people on a workday
About 40,000 people are in St. Charles on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 34,000 who live here: 21,000 come in to work and 14,000 head out. 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.
The figures behind St. Charles’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. Charles is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #119 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, 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, St. Charles could be anywhere from A− to A+.
How many miles St. Charles commutes
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.
13% of working residents work in Chicago
Where St. Charles clocks in
13% of workers
5% 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.
Who leaves St. Charles for work, and who comes in
On a workday 14,348 residents head out to work, 2,214 work right here, and 21,198 people come in from elsewhere.
About 40,000 people are in St. Charles on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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.
Factories, building and farms: 28% of the jobs in St. Charles
23,412 jobs are based in St. Charles.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Charles, 2013 → 2023: 21,713 → 23,412. 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 St. Charles’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from St. Charles takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Charles workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,454 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: St. Charles
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. Charles is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #253 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place St. Charles 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 18,221 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 2.5% of St. Charles households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of St. Charles’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 24,000 to 45,000, St. Charles ranks 225th of 1,211 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 223 | Kenmore WA | 24,249 | $140K | 5.7% | 3.8% | 3% | A |
| 224 | Randolph Township NJ | 26,878 | $175K | 5.4% | 4.5% | 8% | A |
| 225 | St. Charles IL | 33,594 | $114K | 4.4% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| 226 | Algonquin IL | 30,824 | $135K | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| 227 | Harrison NY | 32,273 | $164K | 4.1% | 5.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,211 | 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 St. Charles, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door to St. Charles
The biggest share goes to Geneva (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. Charles workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles | – | A | A− | 27 min | $114,300 |
| Wayne | under 2% | A+ | B− | 28 min | $161,719 |
| St. Charles Township | under 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $128,204 |
| Geneva | 5% | A+ | A | 28 min | $144,341 |
| Geneva Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $141,890 |
| West Chicago | 3% | B | B+ | 26 min | $99,927 |
| Campton Township | under 2% | A | B | 32 min | $181,066 |
| Campton Hills | under 2% | A | B | 34 min | $209,134 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. Charles’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 St. Charles: questions
What is the median household income in St. Charles?
$114,300 (±$9,097) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Charles?
4.4%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Charles?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Charles work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (13%, 33 mi), Geneva (5%, 3 mi), Elgin (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is St. Charles walkable?
St. Charles is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. Charles without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Charles, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Charles
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.