Work & commute · Thornton

Work & commute in Thornton, IL

Most working residents leave Thornton for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (32%), South Holland (4%) and Lansing (2%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

8,328 of 58,926 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 50,598 Thornton residents head out of town to work, 8,328 work right here, and 39,409 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Thornton.

50,598live here, work elsewhere

8,328live and work here

39,409work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Thornton goes to work

Chicago16.9 mi away

32%19,049

South Holland0.2 mi away

4%2,210

Lansing3.8 mi away

2%1,387

Harvey2.7 mi away

2%1,234

Homewood4.3 mi away

2%1,119

Calumet City3.2 mi away

2%1,082

Matteson9.9 mi away

1%751

Hammond, IN5.6 mi away

1%746

Markham4.7 mi away

1%711

Joliet28.9 mi away

1%682

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%29,955

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

How far

How far Thornton commutes

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

34%

41%

18%

34%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Thornton is balanced between jobs and homes

0.81jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Thornton are

47,737 jobs are based in Thornton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Thornton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Thornton

47,737 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Thornton residents hold

58,926 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−6%

Jobs based in Thornton, 2013 → 2023: 50,712 → 47,737. 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.