Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY 4.0Households in Wadsworth have higher incomes than those in 94% of U.S. towns
Only 3% work in Wadsworth itself; outside it, Waukegan draws the most (11%, 6 miles). 8.5% of residents live below the poverty line (Illinois 11.8%). Wadsworth grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Wadsworth’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wadsworth is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #380 of 768 in Illinois. Household income holds Wadsworth’s grade up ($142,738, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (13.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wadsworth could be anywhere from B− to A+.
How many people are in Wadsworth by day
On a workday 1,610 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 788 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Wadsworth on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.50 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Wadsworth: the destinations
Where Wadsworth clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
7% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 33% of the jobs in Wadsworth
836 jobs are based in Wadsworth.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wadsworth, 2013 → 2023: 771 → 836. 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 Wadsworth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Wadsworth
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wadsworth workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,242 commuters (the 12% 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.
Miles to work from Wadsworth
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.
For most of Wadsworth, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wadsworth is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #679 of 768 in Illinois. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 5.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,418 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% 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). 4.1% of Wadsworth households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Wadsworth’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700, Wadsworth ranks 1,534th of 4,535 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,532 | Findley Township PA | 2,827 | $91K | 6.1% | 5.3% | 3% | B |
| 1,533 | Eastwood LA | 4,440 | $81K | 9.6% | 3.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,534 | Wadsworth IL | 3,488 | $143K | 8.5% | 13.3% | 3% | B |
| 1,535 | Lakemore OH | 2,920 | $60K | 7.2% | 3.3% | 2% | B |
| 1,536 | Scott Township IL | 3,350 | $110K | 8.2% | 5.1% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Wadsworth, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work next door: 21% of Wadsworth’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wadsworth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadsworth | – | B | C | 27 min | $142,738 |
| Zion | 3% | C+ | A− | 28 min | $63,104 |
| Zion Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Newport Township | under 3% | B+ | B− | 27 min | $125,074 |
| Beach Park | under 3% | B | A− | 28 min | $85,664 |
| Benton Township | under 3% | B− | B+ | 29 min | $82,995 |
| Waukegan | 11% | C+ | A− | 26 min | $71,919 |
| Gurnee | 7% | A | B+ | 27 min | $119,628 |
| Warren Township | under 3% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $104,155 |
Same-state neighbors only. Zion Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Waukegan. Darker towns draw more of Wadsworth’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 Wadsworth: questions
What is the median household income in Wadsworth?
$142,738 (±$49,806) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wadsworth?
8.5%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wadsworth?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wadsworth work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waukegan (11%, 6 mi), Chicago (9%, 44 mi), Gurnee (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wadsworth walkable?
Wadsworth is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wadsworth without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wadsworth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wadsworth
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.