West Chicago Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in West Chicago, Illinois: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
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Commute Time Burden in West Chicago: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in West Chicago spend about 43 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 180 hours, about 7.5 full days, spent commuting. That is 9% less time on the road than the Illinois average of 23.6 minutes each way, a difference of 2.0 minutes.
West Chicago holds about 0.2% of Illinois's population and accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in West Chicago would save about 72 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,233 at the same national wage assumption used above.
| Area | One-Way Commute | Daily Round-Trip | Yearly Time Spent | Estimated Yearly Cost | Local Road Traffic (VPD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Chicago | 21.6 min | 43.2 min | 180 hrs/yr | $5,583 | 4,949 |
| Illinois | 23.6 min | 47.3 min | 197 hrs/yr | $6,104 | 1,547 |
| United States | 22.4 min | 44.8 min | 187 hrs/yr | $5,790 | 1,355 |
The estimated yearly cost applies a single national rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area - treat it as a rough estimate, not a paycheck figure. Local road traffic counts, vehicles per day on non-highway roads, come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
West Chicago Commute Map
On average, it takes 21.6 minutes to get to work in West Chicago. That's 4% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 12:00 PM – 03:59 PM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 10.0% work from home.
How People Get to Work in West Chicago
- Car: 85.3%
- Worked at Home: 10.0%
- Walked: 1.4%
- Taxi: 1.3% unusually high
- Public Transportation: 0.9% unusually low
- Other: 0.7%
- Bicycle: 0.4%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1%
Public transit is unusually rare in West Chicago: 6.8 times less than the Illinois average (0.9% vs 5.8%).
Taking a taxi is unusually common in West Chicago: 3.8 times more than the Illinois average (1.3% vs 0.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in West Chicago, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in West Chicago get to work, as a share of all workers aged 16 and over, across 16 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) releases from 2009 to 2024. Each release is a 5-year estimate: the 2024 figures cover surveys taken from 2020 to 2024. Because neighboring releases share most of their survey years, the lines move gradually, and a sudden change such as the rise of remote work in 2020 spreads across several releases. Hover over or tap a line to highlight it, and use the legend to show or hide a mode. Driving starts hidden so the smaller modes stay readable.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Taxi | Public Transportation | Other | Bicycle | Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 91.1% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 0.1% | 2.1% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| 2010 | 90.6% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 90.0% | 2.6% | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3.6% | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| 2012 | 91.0% | 2.7% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 2.8% | 1.3% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 2013 | 92.6% | 2.2% | 1.7% | 0.1% | 2.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 91.8% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 0.1% | 2.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| 2015 | 90.9% | 2.4% | 3.3% | 0.0% | 2.4% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| 2016 | 90.7% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 0.1% | 2.3% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 90.3% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 0.0% | 2.3% | 1.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 89.6% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 0.0% | 2.6% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 87.7% | 3.9% | 3.2% | 0.1% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 87.9% | 4.5% | 2.3% | 0.3% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 85.7% | 7.4% | 2.3% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 85.2% | 8.2% | 2.0% | 1.0% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 84.4% | 10.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 85.3% | 10.0% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2013 at 92.6% and lowest in 2023 at 84.4%. Overall it fell from 91.1% in 2009 to 85.3% in 2024, down 5.8 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in West Chicago: its share of workers rose from 2.6% in 2009 to 10.0% in 2024, up 7.4 percentage points. Most of that increase, 6.1 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 2.8% to 1.4% of workers (down 1.4 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2019 release and has stayed ahead since.
Public transit peaked at 3.6% in 2011 and has since fallen back to 0.9%.
Commute Start Times in West Chicago
What Time Do People Leave for Work in West Chicago?
The bars show when commuters in West Chicago leave home for work, as a share of everyone who commutes (people who work from home are not counted), from the 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. The thin violet marks show Illinois for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
West Chicago6.8%
Illinois5.6%
|
6.8% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
West Chicago7.1%
Illinois4.3%
|
7.1% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
West Chicago9.3%
Illinois4.9%
|
9.3% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
West Chicago8.1%
Illinois9.0%
|
8.1% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
West Chicago8.0%
Illinois9.4%
|
8.0% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
West Chicago12.1%
Illinois14.3%
|
12.1% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
West Chicago7.4%
Illinois11.6%
|
7.4% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
West Chicago10.8%
Illinois11.2%
|
10.8% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
West Chicago3.2%
Illinois5.2%
|
3.2% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
West Chicago4.5%
Illinois6.1%
|
4.5% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
West Chicago1.7%
Illinois2.9%
|
1.7% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
West Chicago1.1%
Illinois1.5%
|
1.1% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
West Chicago11.6%
Illinois7.7%
|
11.6% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
West Chicago8.2%
Illinois6.3%
|
8.2% |
West Chicago Illinois Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in West Chicago is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 12.1% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.3% across Illinois. Early starts are more common than in Illinois: 23.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 14.8% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in Illinois: 38.3% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 46.5% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (27.2%) leave at 9 AM or later, which usually points to shift work, flexible hours or part-time jobs.
When people leave matters as much as how far they go. Rush-hour traffic shrinks how much ground a 20-minute trip covers, so a trade area drawn as a simple circle often takes in neighborhoods that customers or staff would never drive from and misses others that are an easy trip. A drive-time zone, also called an isochrone, outlines every place within a set number of minutes of an address, which makes it the more honest way to size a store's catchment, a hiring area or the commute from a new home.
See it for yourself on the interactive map: click any spot in West Chicago, pick a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive and see the local demographics of the people who live within that exact drive time.
Is West Chicago Waking Up Earlier? Typical Departure Time, 2009-2024
Each line follows the typical (median) departure time: the moment by which half of commuters have already left home. Higher on the chart means a later start. Setting West Chicago next to Illinois and the U.S. shows whether local mornings are drifting earlier or later than everyone else's. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | West Chicago | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:29 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:34 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:34 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:39 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:41 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:33 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:29 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:33 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:29 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:24 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:25 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:23 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:19 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:22 AM | 7:35 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:25 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:26 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in West Chicago were on the road by 7:26 AM, 3 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:29 AM). That goes against the trend across Illinois, where the typical commuter now leaves 1 minute later than in 2009. Commuters in West Chicago now leave 11 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in West Chicago has moved 2 minutes later.
How does West Chicago's commute time compare?
| Metric | West Chicago | Illinois | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 21.6 min | 23.6 min | 22.4 min |
| Departure Window | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM |
| Secondary Departure Window | 12:00 PM – 03:59 PM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 10.0% | 15.9% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 1.4% | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 0.9% | 5.8% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in West Chicago is 21.6 minutes, shorter than the 23.6 minutes in Illinois.
0.9% commute by public transit, lower than the 5.8% in Illinois. 1.4% commute by walking, lower than the 2.8% in Illinois.
West Chicago, IL Commute Compared With Nearby Cities
How West Chicago, IL compares with the 2 cities closest to it.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Chicago, IL | 21,065 | 21.6 min #1/3 | 10.0% #3/3 | 7:26 AM #1/3 |
| Bartlett, IL | 33,124 | 27.1 min | 19.7% | 7:27 AM |
| St. Charles, IL | 31,856 | 21.8 min | 15.0% | 7:33 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in West Chicago, Illinois.
What is the financial impact of commuting in West Chicago, Illinois?
Commuters here spend an estimated 180 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,583 at a typical national wage. That's 9% less than the typical Illinois commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in West Chicago, Illinois?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in West Chicago, Illinois. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 12:00 PM – 03:59 PM also sees a secondary bump.
How common is public transit use in West Chicago, Illinois?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.9% of commuters use it versus 5.8% in Illinois, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.