Photo: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in West Dundee earn more than those in 81% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn West Dundee A; getting around on foot earns it B+. 3.3% of residents are in poverty, against 11.8% across Illinois. Only 2% stay in West Dundee for work; outside it, Elgin is the main destination (13%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Why West Dundee gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Dundee is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #62 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Dundee could be anywhere from A− to A+.
West Dundee quiets down on a workday
On a workday 3,575 residents head out to work, 69 work right here, and 2,567 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,600 people are in West Dundee on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.72 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.
The places West Dundee commutes to
Where West Dundee clocks in
13% of workers
10% 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 West Dundee
2,636 jobs are based in West Dundee.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Dundee, 2013 → 2023: 2,890 → 2,636. 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 Dundee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from West Dundee: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Dundee workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,762 commuters (the 19% 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 distance from West Dundee to work
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.
In West Dundee, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Dundee is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #401 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,662 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 2.7% of West Dundee households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Dundee’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, West Dundee is 267th of 2,944 U.S. towns of 6,000 to 11,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Itasca IL | 9,488 | $114K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 265 | Farr West UT | 8,163 | $128K | 4.2% | 1.7% | 6% | A |
| 266 | Big Lake Township MN | 8,283 | $123K | 1.1% | 2.9% | 1% | A |
| 267 | West Dundee IL | 8,570 | $105K | 3.3% | 3.3% | 2% | A |
| 268 | Haddon Heights NJ | 7,609 | $133K | 2.5% | 4.5% | 6% | A |
| 269 | Chatham NJ | 10,027 | $242K | 2.2% | 5.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,944 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Dundee, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
West Dundee and its neighbors: 20% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Dundee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Dundee | – | A | B+ | 26 min | $105,368 |
| Elgin | 13% | B | A | 28 min | $90,282 |
| Sleepy Hollow | under 2% | A | A | 34 min | $149,813 |
| Carpentersville | 5% | B | B+ | 28 min | $86,917 |
| East Dundee | 2% | A− | B+ | 28 min | $89,583 |
| Gilberts | under 2% | A | C | 29 min | $146,333 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Elgin. Darker towns draw more of West Dundee’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 West Dundee: questions
What is the median household income in West Dundee?
$105,368 (±$10,391) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Dundee?
3.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Dundee?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Dundee work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elgin (13%, 4 mi), Chicago (10%, 38 mi), Schaumburg (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Dundee walkable?
West Dundee is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Dundee without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Dundee, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Dundee
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.