Center Valley Grade School · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Almost no one in Center’s labor force is looking for work
Household incomes here are higher than in 86% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Center is among the top U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (C−). Only 4% stay in Center for work; outside it, Appleton is the main destination (21%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Center at work: what stands out
Center makes and builds things
50% of the jobs based in Center are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Center residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 29%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Center works one town over
30% of working residents work in a town that borders Center: Appleton (21%) and Grand Chute (9%). Next door ↓
Center is a place people come home to
There are 442 jobs based in Center, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Center has about 2,300 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Center 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.
The four measures behind Center’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Center is among the top U.S. towns, #8 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment is its strongest input (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Center could be anywhere from A to A+.
Goods jobs make up 50% of work in Center
442 jobs are based in Center.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 335 → 442. 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 Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Center on a workday
On a workday 1,756 residents head out to work, 71 work right here, and 371 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Center on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.24 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.
Commuting from Center: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Center workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,632 commuters (the 17% 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.
Out of Center to work: where people go
Where Center clocks in
21% of workers
9% 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.
Center’s commute, mile by mile
About 15% 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.
Getting around Center: mostly by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 3.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,974 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). 1.7% of Center households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Center’s commuters take a bus or train.
72nd of 4,318: where Center ranks among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Trappe PA | 4,061 | $127K | 4.5% | 1.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 71 | Double Oak TX | 3,051 | $172K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 72 | Center WI | 3,706 | $115K | 1.6% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 73 | East Troy WI | 4,002 | $124K | 3.0% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 74 | Broadmoor CA | 4,586 | $167K | 2.5% | 2.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | 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 Center, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work next door: 30% of Center’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | – | A+ | C− | 28 min | $114,821 |
| Appleton | 21% | B+ | A− | 19 min | $80,483 |
| Black Creek | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Ellington | under 3% | A | D− | 27 min | $94,306 |
| Freedom | under 3% | A+ | C+ | 22 min | $121,711 |
| Grand Chute | 9% | A | B+ | 18 min | $78,105 |
| Osborn | under 3% | A | B− | 26 min | $92,727 |
Same-state neighbors only. Black Creek: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Appleton. Darker towns draw more of Center’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 Center: questions
What is the median household income in Center?
$114,821 (±$25,739) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center?
1.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Center work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Appleton (21%, 7 mi), Grand Chute (9%, 6 mi), Fox Crossing (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Center walkable?
Center is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center 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 Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Center
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.