Fort Atkinson Bridge · Photo: Kevin Schuchmann · CC BY-SA 3.0Fort Atkinson has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute takes 23 minutes each way, next to 20 for Iowa and 26 for the U.S. Employers in Fort Atkinson report 41 jobs, against 152 working residents. Only 3% work in Fort Atkinson; the top destination outside it is Decorah (22%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fort Atkinson quiets down on a workday
On a workday 148 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 37 people come in from elsewhere.
About 190 people are in Fort Atkinson on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Fort Atkinson ends
Where Fort Atkinson clocks in
22% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
66% of the jobs in Fort Atkinson pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fort Atkinson, 2013 → 2023: 53 → 41. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fort Atkinson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Fort Atkinson, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fort Atkinson workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 190 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Iowa: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Fort Atkinson
About 31% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Fort Atkinson: questions
What is the median household income in Fort Atkinson?
$73,750 (±$7,283) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fort Atkinson?
4.6%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fort Atkinson?
23 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fort Atkinson work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Decorah (22%, 13 mi), Cresco (6%, 18 mi), Cedar Rapids (5%, 83 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fort Atkinson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fort Atkinson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fort Atkinson
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.