With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Big Flats works elsewhere
Employers in Big Flats report 46 jobs, against 397 working residents. Only 2% work in Big Flats itself; outside it, Adams draws the most (6%, 10 miles). 4% of workers have no commute at all; Wisconsin has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Big Flats and work: the main findings
Big Flats is a place people come home to
There are 46 jobs based in Big Flats, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Big Flats has about 640 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Big Flats workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 397 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How a workday changes Big Flats
On a workday 390 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 39 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Big Flats on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
How far Big Flats goes to work
About 41% 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.
How long Big Flats spends getting to work: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Flats workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 541 commuters (the 4% 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.
The places Big Flats commutes to
Where Big Flats clocks in
6% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Big Flats
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Flats, 2013 → 2023: 43 → 46. 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 Big Flats’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Big Flats and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Flats workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Flats | – | — | — | 35 min | $48,036 |
| Monroe | under 2% | — | — | 47 min | — |
| Colburn | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Rome | 2% | B | C− | 37 min | $79,728 |
| Preston | under 2% | D− | D | 25 min | $49,219 |
Same-state neighbors only. Monroe: the same community as the city of that name, graded once. Colburn: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rome. Darker towns draw more of Big Flats’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 Big Flats: questions
What is the median household income in Big Flats?
$48,036 (±$12,100) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Flats?
13.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Flats?
35 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Flats work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Adams (6%, 10 mi), Friendship (4%, 9 mi), Stevens Point (4%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Big Flats without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Flats, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Flats
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.