Work & commute · Elwood

Work & commute in Elwood, IL

Most working residents leave Elwood for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Joliet (16%), Chicago (10%) and New Lenox (5%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

36 of 1,191 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,155 Elwood residents head out of town to work, 36 work right here, and 2,333 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elwood.

1,155live here, work elsewhere

36live and work here

2,333work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elwood goes to work

Joliet7 mi away

16%188

Chicago36.6 mi away

10%115

New Lenox9.9 mi away

5%55

Naperville23 mi away

3%40

Elwood (in town)right here

3%36

Bolingbrook18.5 mi away

3%30

Romeoville14.5 mi away

2%28

Channahon7.6 mi away

2%26

Downers Grove26.5 mi away

2%18

Orland Park18.7 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%638

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

How far

How far Elwood commutes

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

30%

28%

35%

30%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

35%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elwood is a job hub

1.99jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Elwood are

2,369 jobs are based in Elwood. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elwood

2,369 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities63%

Services (health, schools, offices…)28%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Elwood residents hold

1,191 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

+80%

Jobs based in Elwood, 2013 → 2023: 1,314 → 2,369. 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.