Photo: Sdancuo · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Third Lake are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. 2.0% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.8% across Illinois. The two grades for Third Lake 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 Third Lake apart
Third Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Third Lake is Chicago, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (46) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Third Lake
71% of Third Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Third Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. 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; with 462 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Third Lake’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Third Lake is among the top U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Third Lake’s grade. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (2.3%) is left out: Third Lake’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Third Lake stays A+.
Where in the region Third Lake 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.
The 428 jobs based in Third Lake
428 jobs are based in Third Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Third Lake, 2013 → 2023: 202 → 428. 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 Third Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Third Lake
On a workday 459 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 425 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 (0.93 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.
10% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Third Lake clocks in
10% 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.
From Third Lake, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Third Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 474 commuters (the 21% 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.
Third Lake 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, Third Lake is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 7.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 599 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 19% 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 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 1.1% of Third Lake households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Third Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Third Lake places 23rd of 3,771 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Tower Lakes IL | 1,201 | $154K | 2.0% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| 22 | Rollingwood TX | 1,466 | $240K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 3% | A+ |
| 23 | Third Lake IL | 1,103 | $150K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 24 | Dellwood MN | 1,148 | $225K | 4.1% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 25 | Bradford Woods PA | 1,126 | $153K | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Lily Lake IL | 1,073 | $140K | 0.2% | 8.9% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Bannockburn IL | 1,308 | $214K | 5.1% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Kaneville Township IL | 1,129 | $133K | 1.4% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Third Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Third Lake and its neighbors: 12% work next door
The biggest share goes to Grayslake (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Third Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third Lake | – | A+ | A− | 30 min | $150,139 |
| Gages Lake | under 3% | B+ | A | 26 min | $103,318 |
| Grayslake | 8% | A− | A− | 27 min | $113,972 |
| Warren Township | under 3% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $104,155 |
| Avon Township | under 3% | B | A− | 30 min | $97,925 |
| Gurnee | 4% | A | B+ | 27 min | $119,628 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Third Lake’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 Third Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Third Lake?
$150,139 (±$30,382) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Third Lake?
2.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Third Lake?
30 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Third Lake work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (10%, 40 mi), Grayslake (8%, 2 mi), Vernon Hills (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Third Lake walkable?
Third Lake is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Third Lake without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Third Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Third Lake
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.