Work & commute · Blue Island

Work & commute in Blue Island, IL

Most working residents leave Blue Island for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (32%), Alsip (4%) and Crestwood (2%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

548 of 8,966 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,418 Blue Island residents head out of town to work, 548 work right here, and 4,031 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Blue Island.

8,418live here, work elsewhere

548live and work here

4,031work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Blue Island goes to work

Chicago12.4 mi away

32%2,884

Blue Island (in town)right here

6%548

Alsip3 mi away

4%318

Crestwood3.2 mi away

2%164

Oak Lawn5.4 mi away

2%163

Tinley Park8.8 mi away

2%148

Downers Grove19.9 mi away

1%123

Orland Park9.8 mi away

1%105

Bedford Park9 mi away

1%100

South Holland5.8 mi away

1%93

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%4,320

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Blue Island commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

38%

44%

13%

38%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Blue Island is a commuter town

0.51jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.51 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Blue Island are

4,579 jobs are based in Blue Island. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Blue Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Blue Island

4,579 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Blue Island residents hold

8,966 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−37%

Jobs based in Blue Island, 2013 → 2023: 7,214 → 4,579. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe 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 saysA 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 surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.