Black River Falls Public Library · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0At 1.4%, unemployment in Black River Falls is lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
7% of workers work from home, where Wisconsin as a whole has 13%. The two grades for Black River Falls are B− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 63% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Black River Falls and work: the main findings
Black River Falls is where the jobs are
Black River Falls has 3,145 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,200 people are in town, 47% more than the 3,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
The quickest commute around
Black River Falls’ 19-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 22 to 26 minutes. Next door ↓
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.
Why Black River Falls gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Black River Falls is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #285 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment holds Black River Falls’ grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Black River Falls could be anywhere from C to B+.
A workday in Black River Falls: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,042 residents head out to work, 425 work right here, and 2,720 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Black River Falls on a workday afternoon, 47% more than live here.
2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 daily trip into Black River Falls
Where Black River Falls clocks in
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.
The kinds of work in Black River Falls
3,145 jobs are based in Black River Falls.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Black River Falls, 2013 → 2023: 2,964 → 3,145. 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 Black River Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes to work from Black River Falls
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Black River Falls workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,488 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Black River Falls
About 27% 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.
Driving is how Black River Falls gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Black River Falls is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #106 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,596 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). 9.3% of Black River Falls households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Black River Falls’ commuters take a bus or train.
Black River Falls places 2,132nd of 4,355 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,130 | Lindsborg KS | 3,824 | $81K | 6.8% | 4.6% | 29% | B− |
| 2,131 | Golf Manor OH | 3,810 | $45K | 13.6% | 2.6% | 2% | B− |
| 2,132 | Black River Falls WI | 3,555 | $67K | 9.9% | 1.4% | 29% | B− |
| 2,133 | Salem Township OH | 2,703 | $70K | 12.0% | 0.1% | 4% | B− |
| 2,134 | Swartz LA | 4,110 | $67K | 14.6% | 2.0% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | 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 Black River Falls, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Bordering towns draw 14% of Black River Falls’ workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Black River Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black River Falls | – | B− | B+ | 19 min | $66,632 |
| Adams | under 1% | C+ | D | 26 min | $75,750 |
| Brockway | 14% | D | C+ | 23 min | $49,896 |
| Albion | under 1% | C | D | 22 min | $68,214 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Brockway. Darker towns draw more of Black River Falls’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 Black River Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Black River Falls?
$66,632 (±$8,274) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Black River Falls?
9.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Black River Falls?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Black River Falls work?
29% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brockway (14%, 3 mi), La Crosse (3%, 38 mi), Eau Claire (3%, 48 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Black River Falls walkable?
Black River Falls is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Black River Falls without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Black River Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Black River Falls
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.