With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Cary works elsewhere
Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). 34 jobs are based in Cary for 206 working residents. Hardly any work in Cary itself; outside it, Marshfield draws the most (25%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Cary apart on work
Cary is a place people come home to
There are 34 jobs based in Cary, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Cary has about 230 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Cary workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 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 206 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily flow of workers through Cary
On a workday 204 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 32 people come in from elsewhere.
About 230 people are in Cary on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
About 28 minutes each way for Cary’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cary workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 150 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 places Cary commutes to
Where Cary clocks in
Lines 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 kinds of work in Cary
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cary, 2013 → 2023: 17 → 34. 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 Cary’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Cary
About 26% 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.
Cary and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cary workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cary | – | — | — | 28 min | $102,500 |
| Wood | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Rock | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Hiles | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Sherwood | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wood, Rock and Hiles: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Sherwood: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cary’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 Cary: questions
What is the median household income in Cary?
$102,500 (±$13,630) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cary?
3.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cary?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cary work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marshfield (25%, 15 mi), Pittsville (10%, 6 mi), Wisconsin Rapids (9%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cary 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 Cary, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cary
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.