Photo: Wdfarmer · Public domainWith 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Albany works elsewhere
For 2% of workers, the job is at home; Wisconsin has 13%. Employers in Albany report 193 jobs, and 490 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Albany are B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Albany, in a few figures
Albany workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Albany workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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 490 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Albany: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Albany is better than 47% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Albany’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (0.7%) is left out: Albany’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Albany could be anywhere from C to B.
Albany’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Albany workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 591 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 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.
Albany on a workday afternoon
On a workday 481 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 184 people come in from elsewhere.
About 790 people are in Albany on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
22% of working residents work in Monroe
Where Albany clocks in
22% of workers
20% of workers
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Albany
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Albany, 2013 → 2023: 237 → 193. 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 Albany’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Albany to work
About 15% 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.
Albany is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Albany is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Albany 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 605 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). 7.6% of Albany households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Albany’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, Albany comes 1,386th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Big Bend WI | 1,498 | $135K | 3.2% | 0.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,384 | Koontz Lake IN | 1,182 | $81K | 11.0% | 8.2% | 1% | B− |
| 1,385 | Three Oaks MI | 1,390 | $67K | 9.1% | 5.2% | 7% | B− |
| 1,386 | Albany WI | 1,089 | $73K | 11.8% | 0.7% | 2% | B− |
| 1,387 | McClellan Township IL | 1,188 | $77K | 10.3% | 2.4% | 3% | B− |
| 1,388 | Mullett Township MI | 1,233 | $83K | 5.2% | 7.3% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Albany, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
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 Albany: questions
What is the median household income in Albany?
$72,649 (±$4,927) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Albany?
11.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Albany?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Albany work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Monroe (22%, 12 mi), Madison (20%, 26 mi), Brodhead (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Albany walkable?
Albany is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Albany without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Albany, from the people who make the trip.
More of Albany
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.