Work & commute · West Chicago

Work & commute in West Chicago, IL

Most working residents leave West Chicago for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (14%), St. Charles (4%) and Naperville (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,425 of 12,425 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,000 West Chicago residents head out of town to work, 1,425 work right here, and 15,219 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Chicago.

11,000live here, work elsewhere

1,425live and work here

15,219work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Chicago goes to work

Chicago27.8 mi away

14%1,750

West Chicago (in town)right here

11%1,425

St. Charles4.9 mi away

4%491

Naperville10.5 mi away

4%476

Wheaton6.4 mi away

4%462

Aurora9.8 mi away

3%411

Carol Stream4.8 mi away

3%357

Schaumburg11.5 mi away

3%321

Batavia5.7 mi away

2%296

Elgin11.3 mi away

2%261

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%6,175

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

How far

How far West Chicago commutes

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

44%

33%

20%

44%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Chicago is balanced between jobs and homes

1.34jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Chicago are

16,644 jobs are based in West Chicago. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Chicago’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Chicago

16,644 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs West Chicago residents hold

12,425 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+7%

Jobs based in West Chicago, 2013 → 2023: 15,510 → 16,644. 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.