Work & commute · Joliet

Work & commute in Joliet, IL

Most working residents leave Joliet for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Joliet (20%), Chicago (10%) and Bolingbrook (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

5,418 of 35,175 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 29,757 Joliet residents head out of town to work, 5,418 work right here, and 28,295 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Joliet.

29,757live here, work elsewhere

5,418live and work here

28,295work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Joliet goes to work

Joliet3.4 mi away

20%7,025

Chicago30.6 mi away

10%3,650

Bolingbrook12.4 mi away

5%1,704

Romeoville8.3 mi away

4%1,413

New Lenox5.8 mi away

3%975

Naperville17.1 mi away

2%870

Crest Hill5 mi away

2%715

Channahon11.1 mi away

2%634

Plainfield10.7 mi away

2%565

Aurora20.6 mi away

2%556

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%17,068

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

How far

How far Joliet commutes

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

40%

28%

25%

40%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

25%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Joliet is balanced between jobs and homes

0.96jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Joliet are

33,713 jobs are based in Joliet. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Joliet’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Joliet

33,713 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Joliet residents hold

35,175 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+2%

Jobs based in Joliet, 2013 → 2023: 32,981 → 33,713. 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.