Work & commute · Northbrook

Work & commute in Northbrook, IL

Most working residents leave Northbrook for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (28%), Glenview (5%) and Evanston (3%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

1,875 of 15,592 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

32%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 13,717 Northbrook residents head out of town to work, 1,875 work right here, and 34,440 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Northbrook.

13,717live here, work elsewhere

1,875live and work here

34,440work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Northbrook goes to work

Chicago21.6 mi away

28%4,302

Northbrook (in town)right here

12%1,875

Glenview3 mi away

5%752

Evanston9.2 mi away

3%407

Skokie8.1 mi away

3%402

Deerfield2.7 mi away

2%382

Schaumburg14.6 mi away

2%324

Highland Park3.9 mi away

2%274

Wheeling4.4 mi away

2%247

Des Plaines7.4 mi away

1%218

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%6,409

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

How far

How far Northbrook commutes

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

45%

45%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Northbrook is a job hub

2.33jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Northbrook are

36,315 jobs are based in Northbrook. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northbrook’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Northbrook

36,315 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Northbrook residents hold

15,592 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month72%

+8%

Jobs based in Northbrook, 2013 → 2023: 33,603 → 36,315. 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.