Most of Bloomer commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Only 3% stay in Bloomer for work; outside it, Eau Claire is the main destination (14%, 24 miles). Bloomer has 171 jobs; 407 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Bloomer is better than 32% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Bloomer apart
Bloomer’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Bloomer is Eau Claire, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (59) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Bloomer workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 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 407 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Bloomer
Household income holds Bloomer’s grade up ($78,690, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.4%) is left out: Bloomer’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, Bloomer could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Miles to work from Bloomer
About 25% 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 Bloomer spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bloomer workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 588 commuters (the 12% 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 many people are in Bloomer by day
On a workday 396 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 160 people come in from elsewhere.
About 850 people are in Bloomer 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.
The towns that employ Bloomer’s residents
Where Bloomer clocks in
10% 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.
Goods jobs make up 51% of work in Bloomer
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bloomer, 2013 → 2023: 254 → 171. 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 Bloomer’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Bloomer gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 671 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). 2.1% of Bloomer households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bloomer’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bloomer is 2,000th of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Big Bend WI | 1,498 | $135K | 3.2% | 0.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,998 | Hogan Township IN | 1,152 | $76K | 11.2% | 0.0% | 3% | C |
| 1,999 | Rice Township OH | 1,237 | $72K | 17.0% | 4.4% | 1% | C |
| 2,000 | Bloomer WI | 1,085 | $79K | 14.4% | 5.4% | 3% | C |
| 2,001 | Sigel WI | 1,017 | $68K | 10.5% | 2.4% | 1% | C |
| 2,002 | Ponderosa Pine NM | 1,442 | $87K | 11.4% | 4.9% | <1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | 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 Bloomer, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
How Bloomer compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Eagle Point (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bloomer workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomer | – | C | C− | 28 min | $78,690 |
| Cleveland | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| New Auburn | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Sampson | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Auburn | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Eagle Point | 2% | A | C− | 22 min | $110,654 |
| Woodmohr | under 2% | B+ | D | 27 min | $87,428 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cleveland and Auburn: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. New Auburn and Sampson: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bloomer’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 Bloomer: questions
What is the median household income in Bloomer?
$78,690 (±$6,544) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bloomer?
14.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bloomer?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bloomer work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eau Claire (14%, 24 mi), Bloomer (13%, 4 mi), Chippewa Falls (10%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bloomer walkable?
Bloomer is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bloomer 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 Bloomer, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bloomer
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.