At 8.5%, unemployment in Worth is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 36.9 in Chicago. The two grades for Worth are C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Worth: the gist
Worth and Chicago trade workers both ways
Chicago is the top workplace for Worth residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Worth come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Worth than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Worth fell from 2,391 in 2013 to 1,680 in 2023, −30%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Inside Worth’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Worth is better than 29% of U.S. towns, #641 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Worth’s grade up (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Worth could be anywhere from C− to B.
27% of working residents work in Chicago
Where Worth clocks in
27% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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 the 1,680 jobs in Worth are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Worth, 2013 → 2023: 2,391 → 1,680. 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 Worth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Worth
On a workday 4,338 residents head out to work, 180 work right here, and 1,500 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,900 people are in Worth on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.37 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.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Worth
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Worth workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,474 commuters (the 7% 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.
Miles to work from Worth
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.
Worth 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, Worth is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #152 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.8% 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 4,822 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, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 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
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.3% of Worth households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Worth’s commuters take a bus or train.
Worth is 2,255th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Long Grove IL | 8,343 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Riverside IL | 8,939 | $154K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Western Springs IL | 13,588 | $230K | 1.3% | 3.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,253 | Wayne Township IN | 7,915 | $59K | 15.0% | 4.0% | 39% | C |
| 2,254 | Diamond Springs CA | 10,927 | $77K | 15.6% | 7.7% | 14% | C |
| 2,255 | Worth IL | 10,696 | $56K | 21.1% | 8.5% | 4% | C |
| 2,256 | Grove OK | 7,399 | $59K | 18.1% | 2.1% | 27% | C |
| 2,257 | Bedford Township MI | 9,145 | $68K | 13.0% | 9.2% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Worth, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns around Worth
The biggest share goes to Chicago Ridge (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Worth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worth | – | C | A | 28 min | $56,288 |
| Chicago Ridge | 2% | C+ | A | 32 min | $68,964 |
| Palos Heights | 2% | A | A | 30 min | $108,740 |
| Palos Hills | 2% | A− | A | 35 min | $83,533 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Worth’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 Worth: questions
What is the median household income in Worth?
$56,288 (±$8,305) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Worth?
21.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Worth?
28 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Worth work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (27%, 12 mi), Oak Lawn (3%, 3 mi), Palos Heights (2%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Worth walkable?
Worth is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Worth without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Worth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Worth
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.