Photo: bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0Households in Wheeling earn more than those in 62% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.9 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. 10.0% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.8% for Illinois as a whole. Wheeling grades B+ 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
Wheeling at work: what stands out
Wheeling trades workers with the towns around it
Wheeling has about as many jobs (21,190) as working residents (17,646), but they are mostly different people: 16,123 residents leave for work each day while 19,667 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Wheeling are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Wheeling and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Wheeling residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Wheeling come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Wheeling draws workers from far and wide
The 21,190 jobs in Wheeling are filled from a wide area. Wheeling’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 62% 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.
Wheeling’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wheeling is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #344 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Wheeling’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wheeling could be anywhere from B to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Wheeling
On a workday 16,123 residents head out to work, 1,523 work right here, and 19,667 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 (1.20 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.
16% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Wheeling clocks in
16% of workers
4% 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.
32% of the jobs in Wheeling make or build things
21,190 jobs are based in Wheeling.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wheeling, 2013 → 2023: 20,666 → 21,190. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way, quicker than most of Illinois
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wheeling workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,672 commuters (the 14% 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 Wheeling 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Wheeling
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wheeling is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #146 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.7% 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 20,629 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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 households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Wheeling’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000, Wheeling ranks 560th of 1,113 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 558 | La Verne CA | 30,178 | $104K | 8.5% | 7.1% | 7% | B+ |
| 559 | San Luis Obispo CA | 50,636 | $74K | 30.4% | 7.0% | 39% | B+ |
| 560 | Wheeling IL | 38,391 | $85K | 10.0% | 4.8% | 9% | B+ |
| 561 | Midvale UT | 36,099 | $75K | 11.2% | 3.3% | 5% | B+ |
| 562 | Randolph Town MA | 34,948 | $110K | 8.4% | 7.7% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Next door is work for 11% of Wheeling
The biggest share goes to Arlington Heights (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wheeling workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling | – | B+ | A | 26 min | $85,205 |
| Prospect Heights | under 2% | A− | B+ | 26 min | $85,008 |
| Buffalo Grove | 3% | A | A | 26 min | $129,395 |
| Arlington Heights | 4% | A | A | 28 min | $116,723 |
| Wheeling Township | under 2% | A | A | 27 min | $106,026 |
| Northfield Township | under 2% | A | A+ | 27 min | $136,617 |
| Vernon Township | under 2% | A+ | A | 28 min | $145,857 |
| Northbrook | 4% | A+ | A+ | 27 min | $157,782 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wheeling’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: questions
What is the median household income in Wheeling?
$85,205 (±$3,711) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wheeling?
10.0%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wheeling?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wheeling work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (16%, 24 mi), Northbrook (4%, 4 mi), Arlington Heights (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wheeling walkable?
Wheeling is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wheeling without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wheeling, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wheeling
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.