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Work & commute in Cuba · Balanced

94% of Cuba’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Cuba for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (15%), Barrington (6%) and Schaumburg (5%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Work in town
6%
413 of 7,103 working residents
Typical commute
15 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
32 min
More than IL (28 min)
Work from home
27%
More than IL (16%)
Jobs based here
7,795
Balanced

What kind of work town is Cuba?

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

★ What stands out · Time on the road

About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois

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

A year of commuting
242 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Cuba32 min
Illinois28 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
27%

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

About 3 in 10

How Cuba ranks on commute time →

Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,690 residents head out to work, 413 work right here, and 7,382 people come in from elsewhere.

6,690live here, work elsewhere
413live and work here
7,382work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night17,000
Workday18,000
17,000live here− 6,700head out to work+ 7,400come in to work= 18,000on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.10jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 per resident).

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

15% 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.

Port BarringtonDeer ParkNorth BarringtonBarrington: 414 residents work here (6%)Rolling Meadows: 130 residents work here (2%)CaryLake Zurich: 161 residents work here (2%)CarpentersvilleLake in the HillsElk Grove Village: 121 residents work here (2%)Palatine: 153 residents work here (2%)AlgonquinArlington Heights: 197 residents work here (3%)McHenryHoffman Estates: 162 residents work here (2%)Schaumburg: 336 residents work here (5%)Crystal Lake: 116 residents work here (2%)ElginChicago: 1,090 residents work here (15%)AlgonquinWaucondaElaCubaChicagoBarringtonSchaumburgArlington HeightsHoffman EstatesLake ZurichCuba
1
Chicago34.9 mi away
15%1,090
2
Barrington3.6 mi away
6%414
3
Schaumburg12.3 mi away
5%336
4
Arlington Heights11.5 mi away
3%197
5
Hoffman Estates9.1 mi away
2%162
6
Lake Zurich4 mi away
2%161
7
Palatine8.2 mi away
2%153
8
Rolling Meadows11 mi away
2%130
9
Elk Grove Village15.9 mi away
2%121
10
Crystal Lake9.1 mi away
2%116
Everywhere elseother towns and states
59%4,223
The top trips

Where Cuba clocks in

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

How far

Half of Cuba commutes less than 15 miles

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

10 mi25 mi40 miChicago: 15% · 34.9 miBarrington: 6% · 3.6 miSchaumburg: 5% · 12.3 miArlington Heights: 3% · 11.5 miHoffman Estates: 2% · 9.1 miLake Zurich: 2% · 4 miPalatine: 2% · 8.2 miRolling Meadows: 2% · 11 miElk Grove Village: 2% · 15.9 miCrystal Lake: 2% · 9.1 miChicago 15%Barrington 6%Schaumburg 5%Hoffman Estates 2%Cuba
CubaTop destinations (size = commuters)
29%Under 10 mi2,035 residents
42%10–24 mi2,997 residents
24%25–50 mi1,691 residents
5%Over 50 mi373 residents

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

The jobs

What the 7,795 jobs in Cuba are

7,795 jobs are based in Cuba. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cuba’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in CubaJobs Cuba residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms23%15%
Trade, transport & utilities14%20%
Services: health, schools, offices63%65%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less12%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month24%17%
Over $3,333 a month63%71%

Who does it

29 or younger21%16%
30 to 5449%49%
55 and older30%35%
−11%

Jobs based in Cuba, 2013 → 2023: 8,778 → 7,795. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

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

Next door

Cuba and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Barrington (6%). Darker towns draw more of Cuba’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

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 Cuba

Cuba home →

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Cuba worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

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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