Steger has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
For jobs and income Steger is better than 48% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A). Employers in Steger report 1,020 jobs; 4,304 of its residents have a job. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Steger
Steger’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Steger is Chicago, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (743) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Steger is a place people come home to
There are 1,020 jobs based in Steger, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Steger has about 6,100 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Steger than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Steger fell from 1,551 in 2013 to 1,020 in 2023, −34%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Steger’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Steger’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Steger could be anywhere from C to A−.
Half of Steger commutes less than 18 miles
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.
The daily flow of workers through Steger
On a workday 4,150 residents head out to work, 154 work right here, and 866 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in Steger on a workday afternoon, 35% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Steger
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Steger, 2013 → 2023: 1,551 → 1,020. 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 Steger’s own residents hold wherever they work.
17% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Steger clocks in
17% 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.
Steger’s commute takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Steger workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,970 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.
Steger is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,320 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 77% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% 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). 6.6% of Steger households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Steger’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,600, Steger ranks 1,745th of 2,867 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Winnetka IL | 12,518 | $250K | 1.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,743 | Waveland MS | 7,042 | $69K | 10.8% | 3.4% | 8% | B− |
| 1,744 | Patoka Township IN | 11,756 | $65K | 12.9% | 2.7% | 48% | B− |
| 1,745 | Steger IL | 9,352 | $67K | 12.6% | 5.5% | 4% | B− |
| 1,746 | Crandall TX | 7,730 | $89K | 19.9% | 6.3% | 2% | B− |
| 1,747 | Lockwood MT | 7,181 | $76K | 10.7% | 4.4% | 12% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,867 | 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 Steger, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Steger and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Chicago Heights (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Steger workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steger | – | B− | A | 32 min | $66,575 |
| Crete | 2% | A− | B+ | 38 min | $97,147 |
| South Chicago Heights | 2% | C | A | 21 min | $58,691 |
| Sauk Village | under 2% | C | A | 35 min | $69,973 |
| Bloom Township | under 2% | C+ | A | 33 min | $73,530 |
| Crete Township | under 2% | B | B+ | 36 min | $80,482 |
| Chicago Heights | 5% | C− | A | 30 min | $54,798 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Steger’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 Steger: questions
What is the median household income in Steger?
$66,575 (±$7,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Steger?
12.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Steger?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Steger work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 25 mi), Chicago Heights (5%, 3 mi), University Park (2%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Steger walkable?
Steger is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Steger without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Steger, from the people who make the trip.
More of Steger
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.