Photo: Downspec · CC BY-SA 4.0Beaver Dam has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For jobs and income Beaver Dam is better than 71% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (B). Beaver Dam has 1,025 jobs; 1,925 of its residents have a job. Only 3% stay in Beaver Dam for work; outside it, Beaver Dam is the main destination (22%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Beaver Dam apart
Beaver Dam makes and builds things
63% of the jobs based in Beaver Dam are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Beaver Dam residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 31%. The jobs ↓
Beaver Dam and Beaver Dam trade workers both ways
Beaver Dam is the top workplace for Beaver Dam residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Beaver Dam come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
The figures behind Beaver Dam’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate is its strongest input (5.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 54% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Beaver Dam could be anywhere from C+ to A.
63% of the jobs in Beaver Dam make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Beaver Dam, 2013 → 2023: 965 → 1,025. 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 Beaver Dam’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Beaver Dam to work: where people go
Where Beaver Dam clocks in
22% of workers
10% of workers
3% 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.
Who works in Beaver Dam, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,871 residents head out to work, 54 work right here, and 971 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Beaver Dam on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
Getting to work from Beaver Dam takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Beaver Dam workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,950 commuters (the 9% 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.
Miles to work from Beaver Dam
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.
Most of Beaver Dam commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,133 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). 0.7% of Beaver Dam households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Beaver Dam’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Beaver Dam is 1,212th of 4,023 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,210 | Makanda Township IL | 3,987 | $85K | 8.5% | 1.3% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,211 | Columbus Township NE | 3,360 | $98K | 10.1% | 1.1% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,212 | Beaver Dam WI | 4,105 | $82K | 5.0% | 3.5% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,213 | Godley TX | 5,093 | $110K | 7.6% | 5.2% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,214 | Sylvan Township MN | 3,030 | $95K | 6.4% | 2.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Beaver Dam, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Next door to Beaver Dam
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Beaver Dam workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Dam | – | B+ | B | 20 min | $82,163 |
| Trenton | under 2% | A− | C+ | 24 min | $99,074 |
| Lowell | under 2% | B+ | C | 30 min | $95,592 |
| Westford | under 2% | B | C | 23 min | $92,813 |
| Oak Grove | under 2% | C+ | B | 21 min | $75,781 |
| Calamus | under 2% | A− | D | 22 min | $107,841 |
| Burnett | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Burnett: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Beaver Dam’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 Beaver Dam: questions
What is the median household income in Beaver Dam?
$82,163 (±$13,181) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Beaver Dam?
5.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Beaver Dam?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Beaver Dam work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beaver Dam (22%, 2 mi), Madison (10%, 40 mi), Juneau (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Beaver Dam walkable?
Beaver Dam is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Beaver Dam 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 Beaver Dam, from the people who make the trip.
More of Beaver Dam
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.