Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Thornton Township (11.8%) is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Thornton Township is behind 76% of U.S. towns. Thornton Township grades C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Thornton Township in brief
Thornton Township and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Thornton Township residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Thornton Township come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Thornton Township draws workers from far and wide
The 47,737 jobs in Thornton Township are filled from a wide area. Thornton Township’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 61% 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.
The figures behind Thornton Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Thornton Township is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #653 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Thornton Township’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Thornton Township could be anywhere from C− to C.
32% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Thornton Township clocks in
32% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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 daily commute in and out of Thornton Township
On a workday 50,598 residents head out to work, 8,328 work right here, and 39,409 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 (0.81 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.
The kinds of work in Thornton Township
47,737 jobs are based in Thornton Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thornton Township, 2013 → 2023: 50,712 → 47,737. 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 Thornton Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 32 minutes to work from Thornton Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thornton Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 56,597 commuters (the 10% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Thornton Township
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.
Thornton Township is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Thornton Township is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #57 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Thornton Township 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 62,967 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 85% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 32% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 85% 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). 12.4% of Thornton Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Thornton Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 225 U.S. towns of 107,000 to 206,000, Thornton Township comes 199th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Naperville IL | 153,114 | $155K | 4.4% | 4.5% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Downers Grove Township IL | 149,599 | $117K | 6.2% | 4.3% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 197 | Paterson NJ | 161,793 | $56K | 21.2% | 10.7% | 18% | C |
| 198 | Sunrise Manor NV | 200,218 | $58K | 20.2% | 9.2% | 7% | C |
| 199 | Thornton Township IL | 152,667 | $59K | 20.8% | 11.8% | 14% | C |
| 200 | Bridgeport CT | 152,273 | $59K | 21.0% | 9.0% | 21% | C |
| 201 | Birmingham AL | 195,893 | $46K | 24.7% | 5.8% | 44% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Thornton Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 35% of Thornton Township
The biggest share goes to Chicago (32%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Thornton Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton Township | – | C | A+ | 32 min | $58,534 |
| Bremen Township | under 2% | B− | A | 32 min | $78,755 |
| Chicago | 32% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $77,902 |
| Burnham | under 2% | C | A+ | 37 min | $57,790 |
| Bloom Township | under 2% | C+ | A | 33 min | $73,530 |
| Calumet Township | under 2% | C− | A+ | 33 min | $49,861 |
| Thornton | under 2% | C+ | B+ | 26 min | $59,647 |
| Riverdale | under 2% | C− | A+ | 34 min | $39,833 |
| Lansing | 2% | C+ | A | 33 min | $75,569 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Thornton Township’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 Thornton Township: questions
What is the median household income in Thornton Township?
$58,534 (±$2,420) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thornton Township?
20.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thornton Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thornton Township work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (32%, 17 mi), South Holland (4%, 0 mi), Lansing (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Thornton Township walkable?
Thornton Township is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Thornton Township without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 32% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thornton Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thornton Township
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.