Work & commute · Elgin

Work & commute in Elgin, IL

About one in 5 of Elgin’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Chicago (11%), Schaumburg (5%) and St. Charles (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

10,516 of 53,056 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

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 42,540 Elgin residents head out of town to work, 10,516 work right here, and 42,871 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elgin.

42,540live here, work elsewhere

10,516live and work here

42,871work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elgin goes to work

Elgin (in town)right here

20%10,516

Chicago35.8 mi away

11%5,593

Schaumburg12.4 mi away

5%2,615

St. Charles8.3 mi away

3%1,524

South Elgin3.4 mi away

2%1,276

Elk Grove Village17.3 mi away

2%1,086

Hoffman Estates9.5 mi away

2%832

Arlington Heights18.1 mi away

1%774

Bartlett9.3 mi away

1%773

Carpentersville6 mi away

1%689

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%27,378

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.

36%

40%

20%

36%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elgin is balanced between jobs and homes

1.01jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Elgin are

53,387 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

53,387 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Elgin residents hold

53,056 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+1%

Jobs based in Elgin, 2013 → 2023: 52,675 → 53,387. 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.