Photo: bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0Households in Wheeling Township earn more than those in 81% of U.S. towns
6.9% of residents are in poverty, against 11.8% across Illinois. Wheeling Township grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Wheeling Township apart
Wheeling Township trades workers with the towns around it
Wheeling Township has about as many jobs (65,194) as working residents (72,931), but they are mostly different people: 62,469 residents leave for work each day while 54,732 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Wheeling Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Wheeling Township and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Wheeling Township residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Wheeling Township come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Wheeling Township draws workers from far and wide
The 65,194 jobs in Wheeling Township are filled from a wide area. Wheeling Township’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 60% 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.
What’s behind Wheeling Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wheeling Township is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #151 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Wheeling Township could be anywhere from A− to A.
How a workday changes Wheeling Township
On a workday 62,469 residents head out to work, 10,462 work right here, and 54,732 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.89 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.
17% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Wheeling Township clocks in
17% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
What work there is in Wheeling Township: 65,194 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wheeling Township, 2013 → 2023: 67,323 → 65,194. 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 Wheeling Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Wheeling Township’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wheeling Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 62,814 commuters (the 21% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Wheeling Township
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.
Wheeling Township is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wheeling Township is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #121 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Wheeling Township 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 79,600 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 54% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 13% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 68% 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). 5.2% of Wheeling Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Wheeling Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Wheeling Township next to U.S. towns of 108,000 to 208,000: 22nd of 222 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Smithtown NY | 116,847 | $153K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 3 | Berkeley CA | 121,911 | $108K | 17.3% | 5.6% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Naperville IL | 153,114 | $155K | 4.4% | 4.5% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Downers Grove Township IL | 149,599 | $117K | 6.2% | 4.3% | 14% | A |
| 20 | Schaumburg Township IL | 131,411 | $99K | 6.7% | 3.4% | 16% | A |
| 21 | Meridian ID | 142,988 | $101K | 6.0% | 2.7% | 24% | A |
| 22 | Wheeling Township IL | 154,050 | $106K | 6.9% | 3.7% | 14% | A |
| 23 | West Jordan UT | 116,812 | $108K | 6.1% | 3.8% | 10% | A |
| 24 | The Woodlands TX | 121,002 | $141K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 222 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Wheeling Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Wheeling Township and its neighbors: 16% work next door
The biggest share goes to Arlington Heights (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wheeling Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling Township | – | A | A | 27 min | $106,026 |
| Northfield Township | under 3% | A | A+ | 27 min | $136,617 |
| Palatine Township | under 3% | A− | A− | 27 min | $104,916 |
| Vernon Township | under 3% | A+ | A | 28 min | $145,857 |
| Arlington Heights | 7% | A | A | 28 min | $116,723 |
| Wheeling | 4% | B+ | A | 26 min | $85,205 |
| Palatine | under 3% | A− | A− | 28 min | $97,819 |
| Rolling Meadows | under 3% | A− | A− | 26 min | $98,514 |
| Des Plaines | 2% | A | A | 28 min | $97,875 |
| Glenview | 3% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wheeling Township’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 Wheeling Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wheeling Township?
$106,026 (±$3,182) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wheeling Township?
6.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wheeling Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wheeling Township work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (17%, 23 mi), Arlington Heights (7%, 2 mi), Wheeling (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wheeling Township walkable?
Wheeling Township is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wheeling Township without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 13% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wheeling Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wheeling Township
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.