Work & commute · Carol Stream

Work & commute in Carol Stream, IL

Most working residents leave Carol Stream for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (14%), Bloomingdale (4%) and Schaumburg (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,595 of 20,395 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 18,800 Carol Stream residents head out of town to work, 1,595 work right here, and 19,384 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Carol Stream.

18,800live here, work elsewhere

1,595live and work here

19,384work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Carol Stream goes to work

Chicago23.8 mi away

14%2,871

Carol Stream (in town)right here

8%1,595

Bloomingdale3.1 mi away

4%790

Schaumburg7.9 mi away

4%766

Wheaton4.6 mi away

3%616

Naperville11.9 mi away

3%610

Glendale Heights2.8 mi away

2%485

Addison6.4 mi away

2%485

Downers Grove10.4 mi away

2%431

Elk Grove Village9.3 mi away

2%428

Everywhere elseother towns and states

55%11,318

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

How far

How far Carol Stream commutes

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

46%

38%

12%

46%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Carol Stream is balanced between jobs and homes

1.03jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Carol Stream are

20,979 jobs are based in Carol Stream. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Carol Stream’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Carol Stream

20,979 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)40%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Carol Stream residents hold

20,395 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+11%

Jobs based in Carol Stream, 2013 → 2023: 18,816 → 20,979. 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.