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Jobs & commute in West Deerfield Township

Household incomes put West Deerfield Township near the very top of U.S. towns

Measured by household income, West Deerfield Township is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Below the poverty line: 2.7% of residents, against 11.8% across Illinois. The two grades for West Deerfield Township are A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.

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

What stands out · In brief

Jobs and commuting in West Deerfield Township: the gist

West Deerfield Township is where the jobs are

West Deerfield Township has 24,859 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓

West Deerfield Township’s biggest commute is a long one

The top workplace outside West Deerfield Township is Chicago, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 27% of working residents (3,353) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓

Home offices are common in West Deerfield Township

29% of West Deerfield Township workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓

Most jobs in West Deerfield Township pay over $40,000 a year

78% of the jobs based in West Deerfield Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓

West Deerfield Township draws workers from far and wide

The 24,859 jobs in West Deerfield Township are filled from a wide area. West Deerfield Township’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 66% 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.

Jobs & income grade

What drives the Jobs & income grade in West Deerfield Township

On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Deerfield Township is among the top U.S. towns, #9 of 768 in Illinois. Household income is its strongest input ($204,915, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.

Household income $204,915 (±$8,235) · IL $83,390 · U.S. $80,734Among the top U.S. towns
Poverty 2.7% · IL 11.8% · U.S. 12.5%Lower than 94% of U.S. towns
Unemployment 2.7% (±0.7) · IL 5.8% · U.S. 5.2%Lower than 75% of U.S. towns
Job access by car EPA, jobs within a 45-minute driveMore than 97% of U.S. towns
Illinois towns we grade 768 towns#9 of 768
A+A+

A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Deerfield Township stays A+.

How TownRatings grades jobs & income →

★ What stands out · Day and night

How a workday changes West Deerfield Township

On a workday 11,473 residents head out to work, 1,144 work right here, and 23,715 people come in from elsewhere.

11,473live here, work elsewhere
1,144live and work here
23,715work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night32,000
Workday44,000
32,000live here− 11,000head out to work+ 24,000come in to work= 44,000on a workday

About 44,000 people are in West Deerfield Township on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.97jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

2.0 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 2023, primary jobs.

How far

How far West Deerfield Township goes to work

10 mi25 mi30 miChicago: 27% · 26.2 miDeerfield: 6% · 2 miNorthbrook: 5% · 4.7 miHighland Park: 4% · 2.5 miLake Forest: 4% · 2.8 miLibertyville Township: 2% · 7.7 miGlenview: 2% · 7.7 miEvanston: 2% · 13.2 miSkokie: 2% · 12.5 miBannockburn: 2% · 0.7 miChicago 27%Deerfield 6%Northbrook 5%Highland Park 4%Lake Forest 4%West Deerfield Township
West Deerfield TownshipTop destinations (size = commuters)
43%Under 10 mi5,385 residents
41%10–24 mi5,112 residents
12%25–50 mi1,463 residents
5%Over 50 mi649 residents

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.

Time on the road

How long West Deerfield Township spends getting to work: about 29 minutes

A year of commuting
220 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

West Deerfield Township29 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
29%

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

About 3 in 10
How West Deerfield Township gets to work
81%Drive alone
5%Carpool
10%Transit
3%Walk
<1%Bike
1%Other

Share of the 10,859 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.

The jobs

78% of the jobs in West Deerfield Township pay over $3,333 a month

24,859 jobs are based in West Deerfield Township.

Jobs based in West Deerfield TownshipJobs West Deerfield Township residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms13%11%
Trade, transport & utilities24%17%
Services: health, schools, offices64%72%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less8%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month13%14%
Over $3,333 a month78%75%

Who does it

29 or younger17%15%
30 to 5457%53%
55 and older25%31%
−10%

Jobs based in West Deerfield Township, 2013 → 2023: 27,510 → 24,859. 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 Deerfield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.

The commute map

Where West Deerfield Township’s workers come from

BannockburnDeerfield: 722 workers live here (3%)EvanstonVernon Hills: 436 workers live here (2%)SkokieBuffalo Grove: 619 workers live here (2%)Northbrook: 405 workers live here (2%)Gurnee: 396 workers live here (2%)GlenviewPalatine: 494 workers live here (2%)Highland Park: 565 workers live here (2%)Lake ForestArlington Heights: 539 workers live here (2%)Waukegan: 589 workers live here (2%)Chicago: 3,698 workers live here (15%)Libertyville TownshipMoraine TownshipShields TownshipWest Deerfield TownshipNorthfield TownshipVernon TownshipChicagoDeerfieldBuffalo GroveWaukeganHighland ParkArlington HeightsWest Deerfield Township
1
Chicago26.2 mi away
15%3,698
2
Deerfield2 mi away
3%722
3
Buffalo Grove5.7 mi away
2%619
4
Waukegan12.1 mi away
2%589
5
Highland Park2.5 mi away
2%565
62%539
7
Palatine11 mi away
2%494
8
Vernon Hills6 mi away
2%436
9
Northbrook4.7 mi away
2%405
10
Gurnee12.8 mi away
2%396
Everywhere elseother towns and states
66%16,396
The top trips

Where West Deerfield Township 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.

Getting around · Walkability grade

Walkable streets, thin transit: West Deerfield Township

On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Deerfield Township is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #84 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place West Deerfield Township near the same point nationally.

EPA walkability index 10.3 of 20 · typical IL town 7.2 · U.S. 6.9Higher than 84% of U.S. towns
Walk, bike or transit 12.8% of commuters · IL 10.8% · U.S. 7.1%Higher than 94% of U.S. towns
Illinois towns we grade 768 towns#84 of 768
AA

A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 15,280 workers.

How TownRatings grades walkability →

Transit service (shown, not graded). 49% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, <1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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

Chicago36.9
West Deerfield Township4.2

Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.3% of West Deerfield Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of West Deerfield Township’s commuters take a bus or train.

Towns its size

West Deerfield Township places 8th of 1,368 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 22,000 to 43,000

#TownPeopleHousehold incomePovertyUnemploymentWork in townGrade
1West Springfield VA22,532$163K1.9%1.7%3%A+
2Upper Dublin Township PA27,258$168K3.2%1.9%8%A+
3Southlake TX31,175$250K1.5%2.7%11%A+
…
6Upper Arlington OH35,893$155K3.3%2.0%7%A+
7Hudson OH23,085$171K3.7%1.3%14%A+
8West Deerfield Township IL32,111$205K2.7%2.7%9%A+
9Colleyville TX25,727$218K2.5%3.0%4%A+
10Oakton VA36,528$161K4.6%1.9%3%A+
…
19New Lenox IL28,893$141K1.5%2.9%9%A+
…
32Bartlett IL40,855$133K4.2%2.6%5%A+
…
42Geneva Township IL26,220$142K3.9%2.5%15%A+
…
1,368Barstow CA24,804$53K23.1%11.9%17%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 West Deerfield Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.

Next door

The towns around West Deerfield Township

Vernon Township: few work hereMoraine Township: few work hereNorthfield Township: few work hereShields Township: few work hereVernon TownshipMoraine TownshipNorthfield TownshipShields TownshipWest Deerfield Township
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Shields Township21 min
Northfield Township27 min
Vernon Township28 min
Moraine Township28 min
West Deerfield Township29 min

Jobs & commute next door

TownWest Deerfield Township workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
West Deerfield Township–A+A29 min$204,915
Vernon Townshipunder 2%A+A28 min$145,857
Moraine Townshipunder 2%AA+28 min$153,798
Northfield Townshipunder 2%AA+27 min$136,617
Shields Townshipunder 2%B+A+21 min$112,865

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of West Deerfield Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

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 Deerfield Township: questions

What is the median household income in West Deerfield Township?

$204,915 (±$8,235) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in West Deerfield Township?

2.7%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from West Deerfield Township?

29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in West Deerfield Township work?

9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (27%, 26 mi), Deerfield (6%, 2 mi), Northbrook (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Is West Deerfield Township walkable?

West Deerfield Township is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.

Can you get around West Deerfield Township without a car?

10% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. <1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of West Deerfield Township

West Deerfield Township 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. 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.