Work & commute · Elgin

Work & commute in Elgin, IL

Most working residents leave Elgin for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Elgin (21%), Chicago (9%) and Schaumburg (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19%

8,997 of 47,651 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 38,654 Elgin residents head out of town to work, 8,997 work right here, and 31,784 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elgin.

38,654live here, work elsewhere

8,997live and work here

31,784work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elgin goes to work

Elgin1 mi away

21%9,895

Chicago35.1 mi away

9%4,482

Schaumburg12 mi away

4%2,096

St. Charles7.4 mi away

3%1,662

South Elgin2.5 mi away

3%1,478

Elk Grove Village16.8 mi away

2%926

Geneva10 mi away

2%775

Bartlett8.5 mi away

2%741

Hoffman Estates9.3 mi away

1%669

Batavia12.3 mi away

1%649

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%24,278

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

How far

How far Elgin commutes

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

38%

39%

19%

38%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elgin is balanced between jobs and homes

0.86jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Elgin are

40,781 jobs are based in Elgin. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elgin’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elgin

40,781 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Elgin residents hold

47,651 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−3%

Jobs based in Elgin, 2013 → 2023: 41,829 → 40,781. 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.