With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Ashford works elsewhere
Only 6% stay in Ashford for work; outside it, West Bend is the main destination (11%, 14 miles). 307 jobs are based in Ashford for 792 working residents. Jobs and income earn Ashford A; getting around on foot earns it C.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ashford at work: what stands out
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Ashford
On income, poverty and job access, Ashford is better than 86% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.5%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (1.0%) is left out: Ashford’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, Ashford could be anywhere from A− to A.
Factories, building and farms: 58% of the jobs in Ashford
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ashford, 2013 → 2023: 327 → 307. 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 Ashford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Ashford
On a workday 746 residents head out to work, 46 work right here, and 261 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Ashford on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
The places Ashford commutes to
Where Ashford clocks in
11% of workers
9% 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.
From Ashford, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ashford workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 838 commuters (the 8% 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 it is to work from Ashford
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.
In Ashford, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ashford is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Ashford 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 907 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). 1.3% of Ashford households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ashford’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Ashford is 502nd of 6,085 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 500 | Scott Township PA | 2,133 | $84K | 2.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A |
| 501 | Deerfield WI | 1,613 | $118K | 7.0% | 2.0% | <1% | A |
| 502 | Ashford WI | 1,746 | $91K | 2.5% | 1.0% | 6% | A |
| 503 | River Falls WI | 2,278 | $119K | 4.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A |
| 504 | Jackson Township IN | 1,999 | $102K | 3.5% | 5.2% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Ashford, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns around Ashford
The biggest share goes to Campbellsport (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ashford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford | – | A | C | 26 min | $90,958 |
| Campbellsport | 9% | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $80,040 |
| Lomira | under 3% | B | B− | 27 min | $85,179 |
| Eden | under 3% | A | D | 21 min | $110,000 |
| Wayne | under 3% | A | D | 28 min | $130,000 |
| Auburn | under 3% | A | C | 27 min | $114,167 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ashford’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 Ashford: questions
What is the median household income in Ashford?
$90,958 (±$12,745) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ashford?
2.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ashford?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ashford work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Bend (11%, 14 mi), Fond du Lac (9%, 14 mi), Campbellsport (9%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ashford walkable?
Ashford is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ashford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ashford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ashford
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.