Work & commute · Ela

Work & commute in Ela, IL

Most working residents leave Ela for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (18%), Lake Zurich (6%) and Schaumburg (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

2,175 of 21,706 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

25%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 19,531 Ela residents head out of town to work, 2,175 work right here, and 20,670 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ela.

19,531live here, work elsewhere

2,175live and work here

20,670work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ela goes to work

Chicago31.5 mi away

18%3,895

Lake Zurich1.2 mi away

6%1,353

Schaumburg11.6 mi away

4%872

Arlington Heights8 mi away

3%663

Lincolnshire7.4 mi away

2%482

Palatine5.6 mi away

2%478

Glenview14.3 mi away

2%444

Northbrook12.5 mi away

2%418

Vernon Hills5.8 mi away

2%388

Deerfield10.9 mi away

2%387

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%12,326

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

How far

How far Ela commutes

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

35%

37%

23%

35%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ela is balanced between jobs and homes

1.05jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ela are

22,845 jobs are based in Ela. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ela’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ela

22,845 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Ela residents hold

21,706 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month74%

+34%

Jobs based in Ela, 2013 → 2023: 17,059 → 22,845. 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.