Work & commute · Downers Grove

Work & commute in Downers Grove, IL

Most working residents leave Downers Grove for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (22%), Naperville (4%) and Oak Brook (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

2,452 of 23,301 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

24%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 20,849 Downers Grove residents head out of town to work, 2,452 work right here, and 51,036 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Downers Grove.

20,849live here, work elsewhere

2,452live and work here

51,036work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Downers Grove goes to work

Chicago17.5 mi away

22%5,148

Downers Grove (in town)right here

11%2,452

Naperville7.9 mi away

4%1,002

Oak Brook4.5 mi away

3%686

Westmont2.5 mi away

2%552

Lisle3.4 mi away

2%509

Bolingbrook8.7 mi away

2%421

Lombard5.5 mi away

2%415

Woodridge4.2 mi away

2%414

Schaumburg16.5 mi away

2%377

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%11,325

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

How far

How far Downers Grove commutes

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

44%

47%

44%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Downers Grove is a job hub

2.30jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Downers Grove are

53,488 jobs are based in Downers Grove. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Downers Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Downers Grove

53,488 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Downers Grove residents hold

23,301 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month71%

+15%

Jobs based in Downers Grove, 2013 → 2023: 46,464 → 53,488. 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.