Most of Apple River commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
For jobs and income Apple River is better than 39% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (D). Employers in Apple River report 158 jobs for 654 working residents. Hardly any work in Apple River; the top destination outside it is Amery (11%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Apple River in brief
Apple River workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Apple River is a place people come home to
There are 158 jobs based in Apple River, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Apple River has about 710 people in it, 41% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 654 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Apple River’s Jobs & income grade comes from
The poverty rate holds Apple River’s grade up (7.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.8%) is left out: Apple River’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, Apple River could be anywhere from C to B−.
About 36 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Apple River workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 519 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Apple River on a workday
On a workday 650 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 154 people come in from elsewhere.
About 710 people are in Apple River on a workday afternoon, 41% 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 Apple River’s working residents head each day
Where Apple River clocks in
11% 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.
A place that makes things: 57% of Apple River’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Apple River, 2013 → 2023: 143 → 158. 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 Apple River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Apple River
About 29% 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.
Apple River is a driving town
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 558 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). 1.6% of Apple River households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Apple River’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Apple River is 1,983rd among 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Big Bend WI | 1,498 | $135K | 3.2% | 0.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,981 | Sterling City TX | 1,094 | $67K | 3.8% | 2.5% | 12% | C+ |
| 1,982 | Wayne Township PA | 1,458 | $72K | 12.1% | 4.4% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,983 | Apple River WI | 1,205 | $75K | 7.3% | 3.8% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,984 | Greeley County KS | 1,089 | $81K | 7.0% | 0.0% | 9% | C+ |
| 1,985 | Lyons OR | 1,226 | $92K | 14.7% | 8.8% | 4% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | 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 Apple River, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Apple River and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Apple River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple River | – | C+ | D | 36 min | $74,762 |
| Balsam Lake | under 2% | B− | B− | 29 min | $89,167 |
| Georgetown | under 2% | B− | C+ | 37 min | $77,308 |
| Beaver | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Lincoln | under 2% | A− | D | 28 min | $95,826 |
Same-state neighbors only. Beaver: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Apple River’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 Apple River: questions
What is the median household income in Apple River?
$74,762 (±$6,285) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Apple River?
7.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Apple River?
36 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Apple River work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Amery (11%, 8 mi), Turtle Lake (5%, 10 mi), St. Paul (4%, 49 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Apple River walkable?
Apple River is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Apple River 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 Apple River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Apple River
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.