Brookfield is a medium-sized village located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 18,591 people and five associated neighborhoods, Brookfield is the 126th largest community in Illinois. Brookfield real estate is some of the most expensive in Illinois, although Brookfield house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Brookfield is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Brookfield is a village of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Brookfield who work in office and administrative support (13.79%), management occupations (9.49%), and healthcare (8.71%). Of important note, Brookfield is also a village of artists. Brookfield has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Brookfield’s character. Also of interest is that Brookfield has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 15.92% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Brookfield is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre. Brookfield is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The village’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Brookfield’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the country, making it one of the safest places to raise a family. In Brookfield, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.14 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the village is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. Despite being a small village, Brookfield has a lot of people using the train to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the train are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.The education level of Brookfield ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Brookfield, 41.82% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. The per capita income in Brookfield in 2022 was $50,616, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $202,464 for a family of four. Brookfield is a very ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Brookfield home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Brookfield residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Brookfield also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 20.41% of the village’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Brookfield include German, Irish, Polish, Italian, and English. The most common language spoken in Brookfield is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Slavic languages.
