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Jobs & commute in West Brooklyn

Most of West Brooklyn commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident

Commuters spend 36 minutes getting to work on average; Illinois averages 28, the U.S. 26. West Brooklyn has 9 jobs, and 77 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in West Brooklyn itself; outside it, Mendota draws the most (6%, 10 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of West Brooklyn

On a workday 77 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 9 people come in from elsewhere.

77live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
9work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night130
Workday60
130live here− 77head out to work+ 9come in to work= 60on a workday

About 60 people are in West Brooklyn on a workday afternoon, 53% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.12jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

The towns that employ West Brooklyn’s residents

West BrooklynPaw Paw: 2 residents work here (3%)Ashton: 3 residents work here (4%)Mendota: 5 residents work here (6%)Amboy: 3 residents work here (4%)Carol Stream: 2 residents work here (3%)Dixon: 3 residents work here (4%)Peru: 3 residents work here (4%)Aurora: 3 residents work here (4%)Chicago: 3 residents work here (4%)Rockford: 4 residents work here (5%)Virgil TownshipViola TownshipMendotaRockfordAshtonAmboyDixonPeruWest Brooklyn
1
Mendota9.8 mi away
6%5
2
Rockford39.3 mi away
5%4
3
Ashton12.7 mi away
4%3
4
Amboy10.1 mi away
4%3
5
Dixon19.9 mi away
4%3
6
Peru23.3 mi away
4%3
7
Aurora44.5 mi away
4%3
8
Chicago76 mi away
4%3
9
Paw Paw8.7 mi away
3%2
10
Carol Stream54.5 mi away
3%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
60%46
The top trips

Where West Brooklyn clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

West Brooklyn works in goods: 100% of its jobs

Jobs based in West BrooklynJobs West Brooklyn residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms100%19%
Trade, transport & utilities0%34%
Services: health, schools, offices0%47%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month11%21%
Over $3,333 a month67%66%

Who does it

29 or younger22%21%
30 to 5411%51%
55 and older67%29%
−61%

Jobs based in West Brooklyn, 2013 → 2023: 23 → 9. 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 West Brooklyn’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 36 minutes each way for West Brooklyn’s commuters

A year of commuting
277 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

West Brooklyn36 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
11%

of West Brooklyn workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How West Brooklyn gets to work
94%Drive alone
6%Carpool

Share of the 48 commuters (the 11% 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.

How far

The commute from West Brooklyn, by distance

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miMendota: 6% · 9.8 miRockford: 5% · 39.3 miAshton: 4% · 12.7 miAmboy: 4% · 10.1 miDixon: 4% · 19.9 miPeru: 4% · 23.3 miAurora: 4% · 44.5 miChicago: 4% · 76 miPaw Paw: 3% · 8.7 miCarol Stream: 3% · 54.5 miMendota 6%Rockford 5%Ashton 4%Amboy 4%Dixon 4%West Brooklyn
West BrooklynTop destinations (size = commuters)
9%Under 10 mi7 residents
35%10–24 mi27 residents
29%25–50 mi22 residents
27%Over 50 mi21 residents

About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in West Brooklyn: questions

What is the median household income in West Brooklyn?

$76,250 (±$23,169) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in West Brooklyn?

3.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from West Brooklyn?

36 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in West Brooklyn work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mendota (6%, 10 mi), Rockford (5%, 39 mi), Ashton (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around West Brooklyn without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from West Brooklyn, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of West Brooklyn

West Brooklyn home →

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.