At 12.4%, unemployment in Burke is higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.2 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 25.8 in Madison. The two grades for Burke are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Burke stands out on work
Much of Burke works one town over
61% of working residents work in a town that borders Burke: Madison (51%), Sun Prairie (8%) and DeForest (2%). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
52% of the jobs in Burke are in trade, transport and utilities, against 17% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Burke is where the jobs are
Burke has 2,556 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Burke
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Burke is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #206 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate holds Burke’s grade up (1.0%, 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, Burke could be anywhere from B to A+.
Jobs in Burke: what the 2,556 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burke, 2013 → 2023: 2,399 → 2,556. 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 Burke’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Burke by day
On a workday 1,632 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 2,530 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Burke on a workday afternoon, 29% more than live here.
1.5 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 Burke
Where Burke clocks in
51% of workers
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.
About 19 minutes each way for Burke’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burke workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,243 commuters (the 14% 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.
Burke’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Burke
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burke is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #15 of 362 in Wisconsin. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 11.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 8.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,444 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 12% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 2.5% of Burke households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Burke’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200, Burke comes 1,079th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Center WI | 3,706 | $115K | 1.6% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,077 | Ellsworth WI | 3,336 | $88K | 8.6% | 0.8% | 23% | B+ |
| 1,078 | Portsmouth Township MI | 3,139 | $79K | 6.6% | 2.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,079 | Burke WI | 3,089 | $104K | 1.0% | 12.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,080 | Belvidere NJ | 2,551 | $96K | 5.9% | 4.0% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,081 | New London Township MN | 2,965 | $105K | 1.6% | 3.6% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Burke, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Bordering towns draw 61% of Burke’s workers
The biggest share goes to Madison (51%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burke workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke | – | B+ | A | 19 min | $104,025 |
| Madison | 51% | A− | A+ | 19 min | $78,050 |
| DeForest | 2% | A | B | 26 min | $106,419 |
| Sun Prairie | 8% | A | A− | 22 min | $90,942 |
| Windsor | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 21 min | $120,048 |
| Sun Prairie | under 2% | A+ | D | 23 min | $127,321 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burke’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 Burke: questions
What is the median household income in Burke?
$104,025 (±$21,572) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burke?
1.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burke?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burke work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (51%, 7 mi), Sun Prairie (8%, 5 mi), Middleton (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burke walkable?
Burke is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burke without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burke, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burke
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.