Work & commute · Northfield

Work & commute in Northfield, IL

Most working residents leave Northfield for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (31%), Northbrook (6%) and Evanston (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

141 of 2,639 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

30%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,498 Northfield residents head out of town to work, 141 work right here, and 7,169 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Northfield.

2,498live here, work elsewhere

141live and work here

7,169work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Northfield goes to work

Chicago19 mi away

31%816

Northbrook3.5 mi away

6%149

Northfield (in town)right here

5%141

Evanston5.8 mi away

5%121

Glenview2.9 mi away

4%105

Winnetka1.8 mi away

3%73

Wilmette3.1 mi away

3%73

Skokie5 mi away

3%72

Highland Park5.7 mi away

2%45

Deerfield5.8 mi away

2%43

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%1,001

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

How far

How far Northfield commutes

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

44%

47%

44%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

3%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Northfield is a job hub

2.77jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Northfield are

7,310 jobs are based in Northfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Northfield

7,310 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Northfield residents hold

2,639 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month71%

−3%

Jobs based in Northfield, 2013 → 2023: 7,540 → 7,310. 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.