Work & commute · Sycamore

Work & commute in Sycamore, IL

About one in 5 of Sycamore’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are DeKalb (14%), Elgin (4%) and Chicago (4%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
20%
1,686 of 8,408 working residents
Typical commute
20 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
26 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
13%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,722 Sycamore residents head out of town to work, 1,686 work right here, and 6,224 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sycamore.

6,722live here, work elsewhere
1,686live and work here
6,224work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Sycamore goes to work

GenoaCortlandGenevaSycamoreBataviaSt. CharlesDeKalbAuroraElginChicagoRockfordDeKalbMayfieldSycamoreDeKalbElginChicagoRockfordSt. CharlesGenevaAuroraDeKalbBataviaSycamore
1
Sycamore (in town)right here
20%1,686
2
DeKalb6 mi away
14%1,177
3
Elgin18.3 mi away
4%359
4
Chicago52.2 mi away
4%340
5
Rockford26.9 mi away
3%217
6
St. Charles19.6 mi away
2%209
7
Geneva19.5 mi away
2%179
8
Aurora25.6 mi away
2%164
9
DeKalb6.4 mi away
2%159
10
Batavia21.5 mi away
1%122
Everywhere elseother towns and states
45%3,796

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

How far

How far Sycamore commutes

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

39%Under 10 mi
24%10–24 mi
24%25–50 mi
13%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Sycamore is balanced between jobs and homes

0.94jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Sycamore are

7,910 jobs are based in Sycamore. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sycamore’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sycamore

7,910 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)22%
Trade, transport & utilities20%
Services (health, schools, offices…)58%
$1,250 a month or less16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%
Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Sycamore residents hold

8,408 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)19%
Trade, transport & utilities22%
Services (health, schools, offices…)59%
$1,250 a month or less13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month23%
Over $3,333 a month63%
+5%

Jobs based in Sycamore, 2013 → 2023: 7,509 → 7,910. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01