Work & commute · Evanston

Work & commute in Evanston, IL

Most working residents leave Evanston for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (38%), Skokie (4%) and Northbrook (2%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

5,581 of 31,265 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

29%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 25,684 Evanston residents head out of town to work, 5,581 work right here, and 36,377 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Evanston.

25,684live here, work elsewhere

5,581live and work here

36,377work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Evanston goes to work

Chicago14.5 mi away

38%11,969

Evanston (in town)right here

18%5,581

Skokie2.5 mi away

4%1,193

Northbrook9.2 mi away

2%564

Glenview7.3 mi away

2%548

Schaumburg20.1 mi away

1%405

Wilmette2.8 mi away

1%400

Des Plaines10.6 mi away

1%325

Highland Park11.1 mi away

1%323

Winnetka4.8 mi away

1%294

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%9,663

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

How far

How far Evanston commutes

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

43%

47%

43%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Evanston is balanced between jobs and homes

1.34jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Evanston are

41,958 jobs are based in Evanston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Evanston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Evanston

41,958 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)88%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Evanston residents hold

31,265 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

−2%

Jobs based in Evanston, 2013 → 2023: 42,617 → 41,958. 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.