Work & commute · Wheaton

Work & commute in Wheaton, IL

Most working residents leave Wheaton for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (18%), Naperville (5%) and Glen Ellyn (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

2,729 of 24,746 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

26%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 22,017 Wheaton residents head out of town to work, 2,729 work right here, and 17,799 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wheaton.

22,017live here, work elsewhere

2,729live and work here

17,799work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wheaton goes to work

Chicago21.8 mi away

18%4,483

Wheaton (in town)right here

11%2,729

Naperville7.9 mi away

5%1,188

Glen Ellyn2.4 mi away

4%948

Downers Grove6.2 mi away

3%785

Schaumburg11.9 mi away

2%609

Lisle4.6 mi away

2%593

Carol Stream4.6 mi away

2%580

Oak Brook8.1 mi away

2%542

Lombard4.9 mi away

2%490

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%11,799

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

How far

How far Wheaton commutes

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

47%

40%

47%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wheaton is balanced between jobs and homes

0.83jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Wheaton are

20,528 jobs are based in Wheaton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wheaton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wheaton

20,528 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Wheaton residents hold

24,746 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month71%

−9%

Jobs based in Wheaton, 2013 → 2023: 22,530 → 20,528. 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.