Every workday, about 67,000 people come to Northfield for work
Most working residents leave Northfield for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (28%), Northbrook (8%) and Glenview (7%). Half commute less than 11 miles.
What kind of work town is Northfield?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
About 27 minutes each way, about the IL average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Where Northfield’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Northfield clocks in
28% of workers
8% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Northfield fills up on a workday
On a workday 32,950 residents head out to work, 6,464 work right here, and 66,757 people come in from elsewhere.
About 123,000 people are in Northfield on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Half of Northfield commutes less than 11 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
68% of the jobs in Northfield pay over $3,333 a month
73,221 jobs are based in Northfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northfield, 2013 → 2023: 79,809 → 73,221. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
17% of Northfield works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Northbrook (8%). Darker towns draw more of Northfield’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
- Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
More of Northfield
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northfield, from the people who make the trip.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.