Photo: not specified · Public domainWork, pay and getting to work in Alma
A typical one-way commute lasts 26 minutes; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26. About one in ten work in Alma; the top destination outside it is Wabasha (10%, 7 miles). 6% of workers have no commute at all, next to 13% for Wisconsin as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in Alma by day
On a workday 344 residents head out to work, 38 work right here, and 359 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).
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 Alma goes to work
Where Alma clocks in
10% 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.
Jobs in Alma: what the 397 are
397 jobs are based in Alma.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alma, 2013 → 2023: 432 → 397. 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.
About 26 minutes each way for Alma’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alma workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 296 commuters (the 6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Alma
About 26% 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.
Work in the towns next to Alma
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | – | — | — | 26 min | $58,368 |
| Nelson | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Belvidere | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Nelson and Belvidere: 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.
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 Alma: questions
What is the median household income in Alma?
$58,368 (±$2,413) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alma?
14.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alma?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alma work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wabasha (10%, 7 mi), Durand (5%, 20 mi), La Crosse (4%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Alma without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% 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.
More of Alma
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.