Unemployment in Thornton (7.0%) is higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers, where Illinois as a whole has 16%. For jobs and income Thornton is better than 37% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (B+). Only 4% work in Thornton itself; outside it, Chicago draws the most (25%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Thornton, in brief
Thornton makes and builds things
51% of the jobs based in Thornton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Thornton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 14%. The jobs ↓
Thornton and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Thornton residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Thornton come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The quickest commute around
Thornton’s 26-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 30 to 34 minutes. Next door ↓
The jobs in Thornton pay better than its residents’ jobs
73% of the jobs based in Thornton pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 57% of the jobs Thornton residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Thornton. 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.
The figures behind Thornton’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Thornton’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Thornton could be anywhere from C− to A−.
A place that makes things: 51% of Thornton’s jobs are in goods
1,274 jobs are based in Thornton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thornton, 2013 → 2023: 1,535 → 1,274. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the trip to work from Thornton ends
Where Thornton clocks in
25% 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 commutes out of Thornton, and who commutes in
On a workday 977 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 1,235 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Thornton on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 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.
Getting to work from Thornton takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thornton workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 890 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Thornton
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.
Most of Thornton commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 968 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 76% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 3.3% of Thornton households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Thornton’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,004th of 5,328: where Thornton ranks among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Prestbury IL | 2,045 | $165K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,002 | New Haven Township OH | 2,375 | $70K | 21.6% | 2.8% | 6% | C+ |
| 3,003 | Kahuku HI | 2,375 | $75K | 8.0% | 6.9% | 3% | C+ |
| 3,004 | Thornton IL | 2,299 | $60K | 15.1% | 7.0% | 4% | C+ |
| 3,005 | Milford IN | 1,686 | $52K | 9.4% | 1.7% | 6% | C+ |
| 3,006 | Cadiz OH | 2,960 | $44K | 12.1% | 1.4% | 24% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Thornton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to South Holland (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Thornton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton | – | C+ | B+ | 26 min | $59,647 |
| South Holland | 5% | B− | A | 34 min | $85,280 |
| Homewood | 4% | B | A+ | 33 min | $100,139 |
| Thornton Township | under 2% | C | A+ | 32 min | $58,534 |
| Bloom Township | under 2% | C+ | A | 33 min | $73,530 |
| Glenwood | under 2% | B− | A | 30 min | $77,391 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Thornton’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: questions
What is the median household income in Thornton?
$59,647 (±$13,707) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thornton?
15.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thornton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thornton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (25%, 18 mi), South Holland (5%, 2 mi), Homewood (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Thornton walkable?
Thornton is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Thornton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 76% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Thornton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thornton
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.