Density, growth & the pull of the core
Where the jobs and people are, how that has shifted since the last vintage, and how far each area sits from its nearest central business district (The Loop). Transit works best where density and destinations line up.
Growth compares each vintage's own regional total — jobs 2019→2022 (LODES8), residents 2010→2020 (Centers of Population). The arrow shows direction only; a shift up or down isn't inherently good or bad.
Minutes to the nearest CBD
Where jobs & people sit, by distance to the CBD
Jobs concentrate near the core; residents spread outward. Each band is a straight-line distance ring around the nearest CBD.
Source: US Census LODES8 (jobs) + Centers of Population (residents) — density + growth; time-to-CBD is straight-line to authored CBD anchors · as of 2026-07-02
Distance bands (table)
| Distance to nearest CBD | Hex cells | Jobs | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≤2 km | 136 | 829,652 | 516,939 |
| ≤5 km | 231 | 276,024 | 805,376 |
| ≤10 km | 350 | 284,580 | 1,136,345 |
| ≤20 km | 513 | 421,247 | 1,409,591 |
| >20 km | 704 | 804,601 | 1,407,290 |
Jobs: U.S. Census LEHD LODES8 (workplace). Population: U.S. Census Centers of Population. Growth compares the prior vintage of each. Distance rings are straight-line to the nearest authored CBD anchor. Receipts:docs/architecture/DATA_SOURCES.md.