Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0At 8.9%, unemployment in Buchanan is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in Buchanan itself; outside it, Appleton draws the most (19%, 8 miles). The two grades for Buchanan are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Measured by household income, Buchanan is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Buchanan, in a few figures
Buchanan trades workers with the towns around it
Buchanan has about as many jobs (3,267) as working residents (3,369), but they are mostly different people: 3,251 residents leave for work each day while 3,149 people come in. Only 4% of the jobs in Buchanan are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Buchanan and Appleton trade workers both ways
Appleton is the top workplace for Buchanan residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Buchanan come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Buchanan has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Buchanan went from 2,077 in 2013 to 3,267 in 2023, +57%. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
38% of the jobs based in Buchanan are held by workers 29 or younger, against 22% of Buchanan’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Buchanan makes and builds things
43% of the jobs based in Buchanan are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Buchanan residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Buchanan’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buchanan is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #195 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate holds Buchanan’s grade up (2.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buchanan could be anywhere from B to A.
Who commutes out of Buchanan, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,251 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 3,149 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.97 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Buchanan to work: where people go
Where Buchanan clocks in
19% of workers
7% of workers
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.
Goods, not services: 43% of the jobs in Buchanan
3,267 jobs are based in Buchanan.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buchanan, 2013 → 2023: 2,077 → 3,267. 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 Buchanan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Buchanan: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buchanan workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,411 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.
Where in the region Buchanan works
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.
Buchanan is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buchanan is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #180 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Buchanan near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,667 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). 1.8% of Buchanan households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buchanan’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,168 U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,200, Buchanan comes 976th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 974 | Oakfield Township MI | 6,190 | $103K | 7.4% | 3.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 975 | Benner Township PA | 8,995 | $101K | 4.2% | 3.4% | 5% | B+ |
| 976 | Buchanan WI | 6,793 | $105K | 2.3% | 8.9% | 4% | B+ |
| 977 | Barbecue NC | 5,910 | $79K | 3.9% | 1.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 978 | Eagle CO | 7,280 | $110K | 6.8% | 1.5% | 22% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,168 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Buchanan, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Bordering towns draw 28% of Buchanan’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buchanan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan | – | B+ | B− | 21 min | $105,478 |
| Combined Locks | under 4% | A− | C+ | 18 min | $93,490 |
| Kaukauna | 5% | A− | B | 21 min | $80,365 |
| Kimberly | 4% | B+ | A− | 17 min | $70,451 |
| Kaukauna | under 4% | A+ | C+ | 18 min | $121,875 |
| Harrison | under 4% | A+ | C | 20 min | $121,504 |
| Appleton | 19% | B+ | A− | 19 min | $80,483 |
| Holland | under 4% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $74,706 |
| Wrightstown | under 4% | A | D | 27 min | $108,047 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Appleton. Darker towns draw more of Buchanan’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 Buchanan: questions
What is the median household income in Buchanan?
$105,478 (±$16,598) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buchanan?
2.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buchanan?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buchanan work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Appleton (19%, 8 mi), Grand Chute (7%, 11 mi), Fox Crossing (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Buchanan walkable?
Buchanan is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buchanan 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 Buchanan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buchanan
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.