Work & commute · Chicago

Work & commute in Chicago, IL

64% of Chicago’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Evanston (1%), Skokie (1%) and Schaumburg (1%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

64%

715,474 of 1,113,917 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 398,443 Chicago residents head out of town to work, 715,474 work right here, and 643,827 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chicago.

398,443live here, work elsewhere

715,474live and work here

643,827work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chicago goes to work

Chicago (in town)right here

64%715,474

Evanston14.5 mi away

1%16,129

Skokie14 mi away

1%14,539

Schaumburg24.4 mi away

1%9,638

Des Plaines17.6 mi away

1%8,570

Elk Grove Village19.6 mi away

1%7,733

Oak Brook13.8 mi away

1%7,543

Rosemont14.2 mi away

1%6,899

Downers Grove17.5 mi away

1%6,829

Northbrook21.6 mi away

1%6,798

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%313,765

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

How far

How far Chicago commutes

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

65%

25%

65%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chicago is balanced between jobs and homes

1.22jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Chicago are

1,359,301 jobs are based in Chicago. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chicago’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chicago

1,359,301 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs Chicago residents hold

1,113,917 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+12%

Jobs based in Chicago, 2013 → 2023: 1,213,380 → 1,359,301. 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.