Household incomes in Vernon Hills top those of 89% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.1% (Illinois 11.8%). For jobs and income Vernon Hills is better than 92% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (A−). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Vernon Hills: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Vernon Hills works from home
29% of Vernon Hills workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Vernon Hills’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Vernon Hills is Chicago, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (2,148) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Vernon Hills is where the jobs are
Vernon Hills has 19,954 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Vernon Hills draws workers from far and wide
The 19,954 jobs in Vernon Hills are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 30%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
48% of the jobs in Vernon Hills are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, 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 Vernon Hills’ Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Vernon Hills could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 27 minutes to work from Vernon Hills
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vernon Hills workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,103 commuters (the 29% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Vernon Hills
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Vernon Hills, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 12,014 residents head out to work, 840 work right here, and 19,114 people come in from elsewhere.
About 34,000 people are in Vernon Hills on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Vernon Hills, and from where
Where Vernon Hills clocks in
17% 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.
70% of the jobs in Vernon Hills pay over $3,333 a month
19,954 jobs are based in Vernon Hills.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vernon Hills, 2014 → 2024: 21,320 → 19,954. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Vernon Hills’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Vernon Hills, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 14,296 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 10% 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 1.2 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). 5.7% of Vernon Hills households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Vernon Hills’ commuters take a bus or train.
Vernon Hills next to U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000: 192nd of 1,477 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Clarksburg MD | 30,487 | $177K | 3.8% | 4.4% | 4% | A |
| 191 | San Carlos CA | 29,261 | $237K | 3.3% | 5.0% | 8% | A |
| 192 | Vernon Hills IL | 26,825 | $122K | 6.1% | 3.2% | 7% | A |
| 193 | Pickerington OH | 26,333 | $112K | 3.6% | 3.5% | 6% | A |
| 194 | Perry Hall MD | 29,105 | $106K | 6.8% | 2.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 35% | 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 Vernon Hills, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 11% of Vernon Hills
The biggest share goes to Lincolnshire (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vernon Hills workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Hills | – | A | A− | 27 min | $121,943 |
| Mundelein | 3% | A | B+ | 28 min | $108,340 |
| Buffalo Grove | under 3% | A | A | 26 min | $129,395 |
| Mettawa | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Lincolnshire | 4% | A+ | A | 26 min | $185,580 |
| Libertyville | 4% | A+ | A | 26 min | $165,667 |
| Indian Creek | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Long Grove | under 3% | A+ | A− | 34 min | $250,000+ |
Same-state neighbors only. Mettawa and Indian Creek: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Vernon Hills’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 2024, 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 Vernon Hills: questions
What is the median household income in Vernon Hills?
$121,943 (±$10,929) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vernon Hills?
6.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vernon Hills?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vernon Hills work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 31 mi), Libertyville (4%, 4 mi), Libertyville Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Vernon Hills walkable?
Vernon Hills is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vernon Hills without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vernon Hills, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vernon Hills
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.