Burns has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Hardly any stay in Burns for work; outside it, La Crosse is the main destination (31%, 16 miles). There are 39 jobs in Burns for 434 working residents. Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average; the Wisconsin average is 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Burns, in brief
Burns is a place people come home to
There are 39 jobs based in Burns, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Burns has about 520 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
31% of Burns works in La Crosse
136 working residents, 31%, have their main job in La Crosse, 17 miles away. That’s far more as work in Burns itself. The commute map ↓
Burns workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 54 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 434 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Burns quiets down on a workday
On a workday 433 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 38 people come in from elsewhere.
About 520 people are in Burns on a workday afternoon, 43% 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.
Where people from Burns work
Where Burns clocks in
31% 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.
How long Burns spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burns workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 392 commuters (the 13% 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.
Goods, not services: 67% of the jobs in Burns
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burns, 2013 → 2023: 62 → 39. 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 Burns’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Burns’ commute, mile by mile
About 21% 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.
Burns and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Farmington (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burns workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burns | – | — | — | 29 min | $99,375 |
| Bangor | under 3% | B | B+ | 22 min | $81,250 |
| Rockland | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Sparta | under 3% | A− | D | 18 min | $94,226 |
| Farmington | 3% | C+ | D | 31 min | $70,550 |
| Bangor | 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Little Falls | under 3% | B− | C+ | 25 min | $89,038 |
| Hamilton | under 3% | A− | C | 21 min | $112,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rockland and Bangor: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burns’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 Burns: questions
What is the median household income in Burns?
$99,375 (±$27,176) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burns?
5.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burns?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burns work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are La Crosse (31%, 16 mi), Onalaska (11%, 13 mi), Sparta (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Burns without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burns, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burns
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.