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

Sycamore (in town)right here

20%1,686

DeKalb6 mi away

14%1,177

Elgin18.3 mi away

4%359

Chicago52.2 mi away

4%340

Rockford26.9 mi away

3%217

St. Charles19.6 mi away

2%209

Geneva19.5 mi away

2%179

Aurora25.6 mi away

2%164

DeKalb6.4 mi away

2%159

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%

24%

13%

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.