Elmwood Cemetery Gates · Photo: Andy McMurray · CC BY 2.5Fewer people are out of work in Sycamore (3.0%) than in 70% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 61% of U.S. towns. Sycamore grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Working residents average 26 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Sycamore and work: the main findings
Where Sycamore’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sycamore is better than 73% of U.S. towns, #307 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Sycamore’s grade. 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, Sycamore could be anywhere from B to A.
A workday in Sycamore: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 6,722 residents head out to work, 1,686 work right here, and 6,224 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 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.
14% of working residents work in DeKalb
Where Sycamore clocks in
14% of workers
4% 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.
The 7,910 jobs based in Sycamore
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sycamore, 2013 → 2023: 7,509 → 7,910. 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 Sycamore’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Sycamore: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sycamore workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,764 commuters (the 13% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Sycamore
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.
Sycamore is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sycamore is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #281 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Sycamore 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 10,115 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.5% of Sycamore households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Sycamore’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,023 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 26,000, Sycamore comes 843rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 841 | Smithfield RI | 22,625 | $102K | 6.2% | 6.0% | 15% | B+ |
| 842 | Mill Valley CA | 13,799 | $206K | 5.9% | 8.8% | 9% | B+ |
| 843 | Sycamore IL | 19,083 | $84K | 8.1% | 3.0% | 20% | B+ |
| 844 | East Pennsboro Township PA | 21,658 | $83K | 5.5% | 4.7% | 9% | B+ |
| 845 | South Ogden UT | 17,710 | $80K | 8.6% | 2.6% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,023 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Sycamore, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 14% of Sycamore’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sycamore workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamore | – | B+ | A− | 26 min | $84,120 |
| DeKalb | 14% | C | A− | 24 min | $46,481 |
| Sycamore Township | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 28 min | $87,400 |
| Mayfield Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Mayfield Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to DeKalb. Darker towns draw more of Sycamore’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 Sycamore: questions
What is the median household income in Sycamore?
$84,120 (±$8,081) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sycamore?
8.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sycamore?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sycamore work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are DeKalb (14%, 6 mi), Elgin (4%, 18 mi), Chicago (4%, 52 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sycamore walkable?
Sycamore is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sycamore without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sycamore, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sycamore
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.