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AlmaWI HistoricBusinessDistrictPhoto: not specified · Public domain
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Alma

With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Alma works elsewhere

There are 19 jobs in Alma for 157 working residents. Hardly any work in Alma; the top destination outside it is Winona (25%, 24 miles). The average commute, 22 minutes each way, matches the Wisconsin norm.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

A workday in Alma: who goes, who stays, who comes

On a workday 157 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.

157live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
19work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night260
Workday120
260live here− 160head out to work+ 19come in to work= 120on a workday

About 120 people are in Alma on a workday afternoon, 53% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.12jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

The places Alma commutes to

MontgomeryWabasha: 7 residents work here (4%)Winona: 39 residents work here (25%)Cochrane: 8 residents work here (5%)Nelson: 3 residents work here (2%)Buffalo CityArcadia: 3 residents work here (2%)Whitehall: 6 residents work here (4%)Fountain City: 4 residents work here (3%)Alma: 5 residents work here (3%)HudsonHolmenLa Crosse: 14 residents work here (9%)Zumbro TownshipEttrickModenaNelsonBelvidereLimaLincolnAlmaGilmantonWaumandee: 7 residents work here (4%)WinonaLa CrosseCochraneWabashaWaumandeeWhitehallAlma
1
Winona, MN23.5 mi away
25%39
2
La Crosse48.2 mi away
9%14
3
Cochrane10.1 mi away
5%8
4
Wabasha, MN10.9 mi away
4%7
5
Waumandee8.9 mi away
4%7
6
Whitehall24.1 mi away
4%6
7
Alma5.1 mi away
3%5
8
Fountain City18.8 mi away
3%4
9
Nelson9.1 mi away
2%3
10
Arcadia18.6 mi away
2%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
39%61
The top trips

Where Alma clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

A place that makes things: 58% of Alma’s jobs are in goods

Jobs based in AlmaJobs Alma residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms58%26%
Trade, transport & utilities16%20%
Services: health, schools, offices26%54%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less21%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month42%27%
Over $3,333 a month37%55%

Who does it

29 or younger16%18%
30 to 5426%45%
55 and older58%37%
−10%

Jobs based in Alma, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 19. 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 Alma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 22 minutes each way, about the WI average

A year of commuting
169 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Alma22 min
Wisconsin22 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
15%

of Alma workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Alma gets to work
87%Drive alone
7%Carpool
2%Walk
3%Other

Share of the 121 commuters (the 15% 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.

How far

How far Alma’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi55 miWinona: 25% · 23.5 miLa Crosse: 9% · 48.2 miCochrane: 5% · 10.1 miWabasha: 4% · 10.9 miWaumandee: 4% · 8.9 miWhitehall: 4% · 24.1 miAlma: 3% · 5.1 miFountain City: 3% · 18.8 miNelson: 2% · 9.1 miArcadia: 2% · 18.6 miWinona 25%La Crosse 9%Cochrane 5%Wabasha 4%Waumandee 4%Alma
AlmaTop destinations (size = commuters)
18%Under 10 mi28 residents
38%10–24 mi60 residents
20%25–50 mi31 residents
24%Over 50 mi38 residents

About 24% 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.

Next door

Alma and the towns next door

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Alma22 min
Nelson22 min
Modena30 min
Lincoln31 min
Gilmanton31 min
Belvidere34 min

Jobs & commute next door

TownAlma workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Alma–——22 min$61,447
Lincolnunder 2%——31 min—
Belvidereunder 2%——34 min—
Nelsonunder 2%——22 min—
Modenaunder 2%——30 min—
Gilmantonunder 2%——31 min—

Same-state neighbors only. Lincoln: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Belvidere, Nelson, Modena and Gilmanton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Alma’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Alma: questions

What is the median household income in Alma?

$61,447 (±$2,750) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Alma?

6.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Alma?

22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Alma work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Winona (25%, 24 mi), La Crosse (9%, 48 mi), Cochrane (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Alma without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Alma, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Alma

Alma home →

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.