Photo: Otherbeach · CC BY 3.0Households in Wayne have higher incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Hardly any work in Wayne itself; outside it, Chicago draws the most (15%, 30 miles). Below the poverty line: 2.1% of residents; Illinois has 11.8%. Wayne grades A+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Wayne
Wayne is a place people come home to
There are 211 jobs based in Wayne, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Wayne has about 1,300 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Wayne’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wayne is Chicago, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (172) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Wayne: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wayne is better than 98% of U.S. towns. Household income is its strongest input ($161,719, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wayne could be anywhere from A to A+.
Wayne by day and by night
On a workday 1,160 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 204 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Wayne on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.
0.18 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Wayne
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.
The towns that employ Wayne’s residents
Where Wayne clocks in
15% of workers
9% of workers
6% 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 kinds of work in Wayne
211 jobs are based in Wayne.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wayne, 2013 → 2023: 219 → 211. 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 Wayne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Wayne spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wayne workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,193 commuters (the 17% 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 Wayne: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wayne is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 10.8% across Illinois, on an EPA index of 6.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,445 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). 1.2% of Wayne households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Wayne’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Wayne ranks: 61st of 5,328 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Spring Lake NJ | 2,769 | $216K | 1.0% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 60 | Double Oak TX | 3,051 | $172K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 61 | Wayne IL | 2,278 | $162K | 2.1% | 2.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 62 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 63 | Churchill PA | 3,014 | $107K | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Prairie Du Long Township IL | 2,549 | $159K | 0.5% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Wayne, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Wayne’s workers
The biggest share goes to St. Charles (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wayne workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne | – | A+ | B− | 28 min | $161,719 |
| St. Charles | 9% | A | A− | 27 min | $114,300 |
| West Chicago | 3% | B | B+ | 26 min | $99,927 |
| Bartlett | under 3% | A+ | B | 30 min | $133,240 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wayne’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 Wayne: questions
What is the median household income in Wayne?
$161,719 (±$29,844) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wayne?
2.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wayne?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wayne work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 30 mi), St. Charles (9%, 4 mi), Elgin (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wayne walkable?
Wayne is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wayne without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wayne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wayne
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.