With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Brighton works elsewhere
187 jobs are based in Brighton, and 707 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Brighton A; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 2% stay in Brighton for work; outside it, Kenosha is the main destination (16%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Brighton: the gist
Brighton and Kenosha trade workers both ways
Kenosha is the top workplace for Brighton residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Brighton come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Brighton is a place people come home to
There are 187 jobs based in Brighton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Brighton has about 920 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 707 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Brighton
On income, poverty and job access, Brighton is better than 91% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.2%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($91,875, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (4.8%) is left out: Brighton’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, Brighton could be anywhere from B to A+.
Commuting out of Brighton: the destinations
Where Brighton clocks in
16% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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 daily flow of workers through Brighton
On a workday 694 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 174 people come in from elsewhere.
About 920 people are in Brighton on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
Goods jobs make up 67% of work in Brighton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brighton, 2013 → 2023: 111 → 187. 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 Brighton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Brighton spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brighton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 579 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.
Half of Brighton commutes less than 17 miles
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 Brighton gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brighton is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 4.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 634 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.5% of Brighton households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brighton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brighton next to U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900: 266th of 5,877 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 264 | Colwich KS | 1,445 | $88K | 1.3% | 7.1% | 4% | A |
| 265 | Richfield Township OH | 1,581 | $101K | 1.4% | 6.4% | 4% | A |
| 266 | Brighton WI | 1,438 | $92K | 3.2% | 4.8% | 2% | A |
| 267 | Northlakes NC | 1,716 | $101K | 2.0% | 1.0% | <1% | A |
| 268 | Brooklyn WI | 1,117 | $103K | 3.6% | 3.7% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | 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 Brighton, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Brighton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Paris (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brighton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | – | A | C− | 26 min | $91,875 |
| Paddock Lake | under 2% | A | C+ | 33 min | $87,800 |
| Dover | under 2% | A | C+ | 28 min | $100,156 |
| Paris | 3% | A | C− | 22 min | $106,719 |
| Salem Lakes | 3% | A− | C | 32 min | $94,819 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brighton’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 Brighton: questions
What is the median household income in Brighton?
$91,875 (±$40,799) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brighton?
3.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brighton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brighton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kenosha (16%, 13 mi), Pleasant Prairie (6%, 14 mi), Milwaukee (5%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brighton walkable?
Brighton is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brighton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brighton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brighton
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.