Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Cambridge’s household incomes are higher than in 66% of U.S. towns
Only 4% stay in Cambridge for work; outside it, Madison is the main destination (37%, 21 miles). The poverty rate is 8.8%; Wisconsin has 10.6%. Cambridge grades B+ for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Cambridge: the gist
37% of Cambridge works in Madison
305 working residents, 37%, have their main job in Madison, 21 miles away. That’s 9 times as many as work in Cambridge itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Cambridge
68% of Cambridge residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Cambridge pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Cambridge pay little
31% of the jobs based in Cambridge pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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; with 815 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Cambridge: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Cambridge is better than 70% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Cambridge’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
Unemployment (2.7%) is left out: Cambridge’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, Cambridge could be anywhere from B− to A.
Where the trip to work from Cambridge ends
Where Cambridge clocks in
37% of workers
8% 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.
What work there is in Cambridge: 577 jobs
577 jobs are based in Cambridge.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cambridge, 2013 → 2023: 475 → 577. 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 Cambridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Cambridge, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 782 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 544 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Cambridge on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
From Cambridge, about 25 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cambridge workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 741 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.
The distance from Cambridge to work
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.
Cambridge is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cambridge is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Cambridge 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 854 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). 3.5% of Cambridge households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Cambridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Cambridge is 1,114th of 5,760 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,112 | Wellsville KS | 2,002 | $84K | 8.0% | 1.6% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,113 | Cross Roads TX | 1,965 | $124K | 6.9% | 10.1% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,114 | Cambridge WI | 1,679 | $88K | 8.8% | 2.7% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,115 | Liberty UT | 1,484 | $107K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,116 | Jonestown PA | 1,666 | $89K | 6.9% | 3.8% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Cambridge, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
How Cambridge compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cambridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | – | B+ | B | 25 min | $87,917 |
| Christiana | under 2% | A− | C | 31 min | $83,750 |
| Oakland | under 2% | B− | C | 26 min | $94,603 |
| Lake Ripley | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lake Ripley: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cambridge’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 Cambridge: questions
What is the median household income in Cambridge?
$87,917 (±$16,398) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cambridge?
8.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cambridge?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cambridge work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (37%, 21 mi), Deerfield (8%, 4 mi), Sun Prairie (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cambridge walkable?
Cambridge is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cambridge without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cambridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cambridge
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.