Work & commute · Highland Park

Work & commute in Highland Park, IL

Most working residents leave Highland Park for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (26%), Northbrook (6%) and Deerfield (3%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,287 of 11,803 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,516 Highland Park residents head out of town to work, 1,287 work right here, and 12,355 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Highland Park.

10,516live here, work elsewhere

1,287live and work here

12,355work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Highland Park goes to work

Chicago24.7 mi away

26%3,091

Highland Park (in town)right here

11%1,287

Northbrook3.9 mi away

6%675

Deerfield2.4 mi away

3%363

Lake Forest4.4 mi away

2%265

Glenview6.8 mi away

2%263

Skokie10.7 mi away

2%239

Evanston11.1 mi away

2%237

Libertyville9.8 mi away

2%216

Waukegan13.3 mi away

1%170

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%4,997

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

How far

How far Highland Park commutes

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

41%

45%

41%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Highland Park is balanced between jobs and homes

1.16jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Highland Park are

13,642 jobs are based in Highland Park. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Highland Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Highland Park

13,642 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Highland Park residents hold

11,803 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month73%

+14%

Jobs based in Highland Park, 2013 → 2023: 11,983 → 13,642. 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.