Work & commute · McHenry

Work & commute in McHenry, IL

Most working residents leave McHenry for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (8%), Crystal Lake (6%) and Woodstock (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

1,639 of 12,897 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,258 McHenry residents head out of town to work, 1,639 work right here, and 11,707 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in McHenry.

11,258live here, work elsewhere

1,639live and work here

11,707work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where McHenry goes to work

McHenry (in town)right here

13%1,639

Chicago46.4 mi away

8%1,096

Crystal Lake7.5 mi away

6%759

Woodstock7.6 mi away

3%325

Elgin20.6 mi away

2%262

Cary8.8 mi away

2%247

Schaumburg23.8 mi away

2%235

Lake Zurich14.4 mi away

2%197

Libertyville17 mi away

2%194

Johnsburg4 mi away

1%193

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%7,750

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

How far

How far McHenry commutes

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

33%

32%

28%

33%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

McHenry is balanced between jobs and homes

1.03jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in McHenry are

13,346 jobs are based in McHenry. Here is what they are, next to the jobs McHenry’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in McHenry

13,346 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs McHenry residents hold

12,897 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

−7%

Jobs based in McHenry, 2013 → 2023: 14,392 → 13,346. 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.