Work & commute · Thornton

Work & commute in Thornton, IL

Most working residents leave Thornton for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (25%), South Holland (5%) and Homewood (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39 of 1,016 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 977 Thornton residents head out of town to work, 39 work right here, and 1,235 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Thornton.

977live here, work elsewhere

39live and work here

1,235work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Thornton goes to work

Chicago18.5 mi away

25%256

South Holland1.9 mi away

5%54

Homewood2.4 mi away

4%41

Thornton (in town)right here

4%39

Harvey2.9 mi away

2%24

Orland Park12.6 mi away

2%22

Chicago Heights4.5 mi away

2%20

Lansing3.8 mi away

2%18

Matteson8 mi away

1%13

Tinley Park9.6 mi away

1%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%518

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.

37%

35%

19%

37%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Thornton is balanced between jobs and homes

1.25jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Thornton are

1,274 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

1,274 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)51%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)17%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Thornton residents hold

1,016 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

−17%

Jobs based in Thornton, 2013 → 2023: 1,535 → 1,274. 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.