Work & commute · Joliet

Work & commute in Joliet, IL

Most working residents leave Joliet for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (12%), Bolingbrook (4%) and Naperville (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

11,323 of 69,893 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 58,570 Joliet residents head out of town to work, 11,323 work right here, and 39,703 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Joliet.

58,570live here, work elsewhere

11,323live and work here

39,703work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Joliet goes to work

Joliet (in town)right here

16%11,323

Chicago32.6 mi away

12%8,379

Bolingbrook11.9 mi away

4%2,937

Naperville16.1 mi away

4%2,482

Plainfield8.2 mi away

4%2,451

Romeoville8 mi away

3%2,257

Aurora18.6 mi away

2%1,654

New Lenox9.2 mi away

2%1,373

Crest Hill4.4 mi away

2%1,106

Channahon8.8 mi away

1%988

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%34,943

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.

34%

30%

29%

34%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

29%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Joliet is a commuter town

0.73jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.73 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Joliet are

51,026 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

51,026 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities35%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Joliet residents hold

69,893 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+3%

Jobs based in Joliet, 2013 → 2023: 49,586 → 51,026. 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.