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Work & commute in Alden · A commuter town

100% of Alden’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Alden for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (13%), Marengo (6%) and Harvard (6%). Half commute less than 34 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 53 working residents
Typical commute
34 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Work from home
0%
Less than IL (16%)
Jobs based here
3
A commuter town
Work out of state
36%
of workers

What kind of work town is Alden?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

13% of working residents work in Chicago

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Union: 1 residents work here (2%)Lincolnwood: 1 residents work here (2%)Lake Bluff: 1 residents work here (2%)ItascaPark Ridge: 2 residents work here (4%)Marengo: 3 residents work here (6%)Harvard: 3 residents work here (6%)Elk Grove Village: 2 residents work here (4%)Woodstock: 2 residents work here (4%)Crystal Lake: 2 residents work here (4%)Chicago: 7 residents work here (13%)AldenChicagoMarengoHarvardPark RidgeElk Grove VillageWoodstockAlden
1
Chicago60.6 mi away
13%7
2
Marengo15.2 mi away
6%3
3
Harvard5.6 mi away
6%3
4
Park Ridge46.3 mi away
4%2
5
Elk Grove Village41.3 mi away
4%2
6
Woodstock11.1 mi away
4%2
7
Crystal Lake18.2 mi away
4%2
8
Union15.7 mi away
2%1
9
Lincolnwood50.9 mi away
2%1
10
Lake Bluff36.1 mi away
2%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
55%29
The top trips

Where Alden clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Alden quiets down on a workday

On a workday 53 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 3 people come in from elsewhere.

53live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
3work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night48
Workday0
48live here− 53head out to work+ 3come in to work= 0on a workday

About 0 people are in Alden on a workday afternoon, 100% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.06jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.06 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.

How far

Half of Alden commutes less than 34 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi70 miChicago: 13% · 60.6 miMarengo: 6% · 15.2 miHarvard: 6% · 5.6 miPark Ridge: 4% · 46.3 miElk Grove Village: 4% · 41.3 miWoodstock: 4% · 11.1 miCrystal Lake: 4% · 18.2 miUnion: 2% · 15.7 miLincolnwood: 2% · 50.9 miLake Bluff: 2% · 36.1 miChicago 13%Marengo 6%Harvard 6%Park Ridge 4%Elk Grove Village 4%Alden
AldenTop destinations (size = commuters)
17%Under 10 mi9 residents
25%10–24 mi13 residents
36%25–50 mi19 residents
23%Over 50 mi12 residents

About 23% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 3 jobs in Alden are

3 jobs are based in Alden. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alden’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in AldenJobs Alden residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%30%
Trade, transport & utilities100%19%
Services: health, schools, offices0%51%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%9%
$1,251–$3,333 a month100%19%
Over $3,333 a month0%72%

Who does it

29 or younger0%15%
30 to 5467%49%
55 and older33%36%

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

Working from home in Alden

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

Working from home
0%

of Alden workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.
  • Where the employer says. A job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.
  • Two surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Alden

Alden home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Alden, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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Ask neighbors

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.

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