Every workday, about 6,300 people come to University Park for work
Most working residents leave University Park for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (22%), Matteson (3%) and Joliet (3%). Half commute less than 25 miles.
What stands out about work in University Park
University Park draws workers from far and wide
The 6,376 jobs in University Park are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 24%; the other 75% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
University Park workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 39 minutes each way, against 28 across Illinois. Over a year that’s about 299 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
University Park is where the jobs are
University Park has 6,376 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 11,000 people are in town, 45% more than the 7,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
University Park’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside University Park is Chicago, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (675) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
University Park makes and builds things
42% of the jobs based in University Park are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs University Park residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 11%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where University Park’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where University Park clocks in
22% of workers
3% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 39 minutes each way, longer than most of Illinois
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of University Park workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
University Park fills up on a workday
On a workday 3,023 residents head out to work, 90 work right here, and 6,286 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in University Park on a workday afternoon, 45% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Half of University Park commutes less than 25 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
University Park makes things: 42% of its jobs are in goods
6,376 jobs are based in University Park. Here is what they are, next to the jobs University Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in University Park, 2013 → 2023: 5,952 → 6,376. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
University Park and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Park Forest (2%). Darker towns draw more of University Park’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
- Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
More of University Park
Commuter talk
Getting to work from University Park, from the people who make the trip.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.