Photo: Transport6087 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Wauconda are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 6.2% of residents, where Illinois as a whole has 11.8%. Wauconda grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Only 7% stay in Wauconda for work; outside it, Chicago is the main destination (12%, 38 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Wauconda
Wauconda’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wauconda is Chicago, 38 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (864) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Wauconda draws workers from far and wide
The 5,556 jobs in Wauconda are filled from a wide area. Wauconda’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 67% 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.
How Wauconda earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wauconda is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #234 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Wauconda’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wauconda could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How far it is to work from Wauconda
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.
Where Wauconda goes to work
Where Wauconda clocks in
12% of workers
3% 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 leaves Wauconda for work, and who comes in
On a workday 6,481 residents head out to work, 469 work right here, and 5,087 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Wauconda on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 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.
A place that makes things: 29% of Wauconda’s jobs are in goods
5,556 jobs are based in Wauconda.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wauconda, 2013 → 2023: 5,021 → 5,556. 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 Wauconda’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Wauconda, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wauconda workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,274 commuters (the 15% 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.
Getting around Wauconda: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wauconda is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #426 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Wauconda 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 7,398 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 20% 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). 3.6% of Wauconda households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Wauconda’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Wauconda ranks: 683rd of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| 31 | Riverside Township IL | 16,083 | $122K | 4.5% | 1.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 681 | South Lebanon Township PA | 10,735 | $85K | 7.9% | 1.7% | 13% | A− |
| 682 | Monument CO | 13,813 | $129K | 4.7% | 4.3% | 6% | A− |
| 683 | Wauconda IL | 13,993 | $111K | 6.2% | 4.9% | 7% | A− |
| 684 | Mountain Park GA | 12,850 | $96K | 12.9% | 2.3% | 2% | A− |
| 685 | Highland Park NJ | 15,259 | $105K | 7.5% | 4.8% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Wauconda, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Around Wauconda: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wauconda workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wauconda | – | A− | B+ | 31 min | $111,239 |
| Wauconda Township | under 2% | A | B | 31 min | $112,337 |
| Fremont Township | under 2% | A | B+ | 30 min | $120,182 |
| Lake Barrington | under 2% | A− | B+ | 33 min | $141,958 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wauconda’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 Wauconda: questions
What is the median household income in Wauconda?
$111,239 (±$8,032) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wauconda?
6.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wauconda?
31 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wauconda work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (12%, 38 mi), Mundelein (3%, 6 mi), Lake Zurich (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wauconda walkable?
Wauconda is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wauconda without a car?
3% 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 Wauconda, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wauconda
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.