Photo: Soueric · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Wilmette have higher incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
Wilmette grades A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 3.2% (Illinois 11.8%). For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.1 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
Wilmette at work: what stands out
Home offices are common in Wilmette
36% of Wilmette workers work from home, against 16% across Illinois. Time on the road ↓
Wilmette and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Wilmette residents (42%) and also where the most people who work in Wilmette come from (27% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Wilmette workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Wilmette
75% of Wilmette residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 57% of the jobs based in Wilmette pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Wilmette is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Wilmette’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wilmette is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #47 of 768 in Illinois. Household income is its strongest input ($190,662, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wilmette could be anywhere from A to A+.
A commute of about 35 minutes in Wilmette
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wilmette workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,475 commuters (the 36% 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.
42% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Wilmette clocks in
42% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Wilmette
6,443 jobs are based in Wilmette.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wilmette, 2013 → 2023: 6,829 → 6,443. 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 Wilmette’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Wilmette
On a workday 11,403 residents head out to work, 824 work right here, and 5,619 people come in from elsewhere.
About 22,000 people are in Wilmette on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.53 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 commute from Wilmette, by distance
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Wilmette
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wilmette is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #3 of 768 in Illinois. Both inputs place Wilmette 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 11,706 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 50% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 6.3% of Wilmette households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 21% of Wilmette’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 19,000 to 37,000, Wilmette ranks 91st of 1,509 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | West Goshen Township PA | 24,224 | $132K | 5.4% | 2.4% | 12% | A+ |
| 90 | McNair VA | 22,655 | $123K | 6.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| 91 | Wilmette IL | 27,459 | $191K | 3.2% | 4.2% | 7% | A+ |
| 92 | Mineola NY | 21,376 | $138K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| 93 | Springboro OH | 19,606 | $120K | 2.8% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,509 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Wilmette, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
12% of Wilmette works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Evanston (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wilmette workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmette | – | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $190,662 |
| New Trier Township | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 34 min | $215,916 |
| Glenview | 2% | A | A+ | 27 min | $143,056 |
| Kenilworth | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Evanston | 7% | B | A+ | 28 min | $96,434 |
| Skokie | 3% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $95,337 |
| Niles Township | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $97,280 |
| Northfield | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 25 min | $161,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wilmette’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 Wilmette: questions
What is the median household income in Wilmette?
$190,662 (±$19,517) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wilmette?
3.2%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wilmette?
35 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 36% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wilmette work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (42%, 17 mi), Evanston (7%, 3 mi), Skokie (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wilmette walkable?
Wilmette is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.9 out of 20, and 27% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wilmette without a car?
21% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 50% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wilmette, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wilmette
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.