Work & commute · Crystal Lake

Work & commute in Crystal Lake, IL

Most working residents leave Crystal Lake for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (12%), Elgin (4%) and Schaumburg (3%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

2,804 of 20,078 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 17,274 Crystal Lake residents head out of town to work, 2,804 work right here, and 16,461 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Crystal Lake.

17,274live here, work elsewhere

2,804live and work here

16,461work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Crystal Lake goes to work

Crystal Lake (in town)right here

14%2,804

Chicago43.1 mi away

12%2,368

Elgin13.4 mi away

4%838

Schaumburg19.1 mi away

3%691

McHenry7.5 mi away

3%604

Woodstock7.4 mi away

3%520

Cary4.5 mi away

3%510

Algonquin5.1 mi away

2%376

Lake in the Hills3.8 mi away

2%316

Arlington Heights20.4 mi away

2%312

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%10,739

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

How far

How far Crystal Lake commutes

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

34%

31%

30%

34%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Crystal Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

0.96jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Crystal Lake are

19,265 jobs are based in Crystal Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Crystal Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Crystal Lake

19,265 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Crystal Lake residents hold

20,078 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+6%

Jobs based in Crystal Lake, 2013 → 2023: 18,127 → 19,265. 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.