Work & commute · Wheeling

Work & commute in Wheeling, IL

Most working residents leave Wheeling for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (16%), Northbrook (4%) and Arlington Heights (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,523 of 17,646 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 16,123 Wheeling residents head out of town to work, 1,523 work right here, and 19,667 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wheeling.

16,123live here, work elsewhere

1,523live and work here

19,667work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wheeling goes to work

Chicago23.5 mi away

16%2,877

Wheeling (in town)right here

9%1,523

Northbrook4.4 mi away

4%788

Arlington Heights3.8 mi away

4%641

Glenview5.6 mi away

3%617

Schaumburg10.8 mi away

3%534

Buffalo Grove3.4 mi away

3%467

Lincolnshire4.8 mi away

2%405

Mount Prospect4.5 mi away

2%348

Des Plaines6.6 mi away

2%337

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%9,109

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

How far

How far Wheeling commutes

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

50%

40%

50%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wheeling is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Wheeling are

21,190 jobs are based in Wheeling. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wheeling’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wheeling

21,190 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Wheeling residents hold

17,646 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+3%

Jobs based in Wheeling, 2013 → 2023: 20,666 → 21,190. 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.