Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Unemployment in Abbotsford (9.3%) is higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C: better than 26% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access.
Walkability B−: more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns.
Household incomes here are lower than in 61% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). About one in five work in Abbotsford; the top destination outside it is Colby (11%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Abbotsford
Abbotsford is where the jobs are
Abbotsford has 1,789 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 3,400 people are in town, 40% more than the 2,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Abbotsford makes and builds things
59% of the jobs based in Abbotsford are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Abbotsford residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 46%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 816 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Abbotsford’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Abbotsford is better than 26% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Abbotsford’s grade up (9.5%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (9.3%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Abbotsford could be anywhere from D to B.
Abbotsford fills up on a workday
On a workday 639 residents head out to work, 177 work right here, and 1,612 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Abbotsford on a workday afternoon, 40% more than live here.
2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Abbotsford makes things: 59% of its jobs are in goods
1,789 jobs are based in Abbotsford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Abbotsford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Abbotsford, 2013 → 2023: 1,642 → 1,789. 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.
Where Abbotsford’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Abbotsford clocks in
11% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Wisconsin
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Abbotsford workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 907 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Abbotsford commutes less than 8 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 23% 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.
Most trips from Abbotsford start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Abbotsford is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Abbotsford near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 978 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.1% of Abbotsford households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Abbotsford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Abbotsford is 3,641st of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Abbotsford, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Vandenbroek WI | 1,701 | $129K | 1.6% | 5.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Sun Prairie WI | 2,291 | $127K | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,639 | Dixfield ME | 2,396 | $71K | 14.0% | 4.0% | 9% | C |
| 3,640 | Ford Heights IL | 1,751 | $36K | 26.6% | 13.9% | 3% | C |
| 3,641 | Abbotsford WI | 2,413 | $69K | 9.5% | 9.3% | 22% | C |
| 3,642 | Selby Township IL | 2,101 | $67K | 12.5% | 6.2% | 4% | C |
| 3,643 | Essex Township MI | 1,847 | $71K | 16.6% | 4.5% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
18% of Abbotsford works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Colby (11%). Darker towns draw more of Abbotsford’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Abbotsford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | – | C | B− | 19 min | $68,580 |
| Colby | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Hull | 4% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Holton | 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Mayville | 1% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Colby | 11% | D | A− | 20 min | $50,114 |
Same-state neighbors only. Colby, Hull and Mayville: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Holton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Abbotsford: questions
What is the median household income in Abbotsford?
$68,580 (±$12,300) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Abbotsford?
9.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Abbotsford?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Abbotsford work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colby (11%, 2 mi), Medford (9%, 13 mi), Dorchester (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Abbotsford walkable?
Abbotsford is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Abbotsford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Abbotsford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Abbotsford
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.