Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Chilton (1.2%) is lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Chilton is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (A−). About one in four work in Chilton; the top destination outside it is Appleton (5%, 20 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 18 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Chilton: the gist
Chilton is where the jobs are
Chilton has 2,878 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Chilton makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Chilton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Chilton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 38%. 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.
The four measures behind Chilton’s grade
Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($82,923, U.S. $80,734). 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, Chilton could be anywhere from B− to A.
How a workday changes Chilton
On a workday 1,317 residents head out to work, 475 work right here, and 2,403 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Chilton on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.6 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.
Goods jobs make up 35% of work in Chilton
2,878 jobs are based in Chilton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chilton, 2013 → 2023: 3,032 → 2,878. 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 Chilton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to Chilton: where workers come from
Where Chilton clocks in
5% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
The trip to work from Chilton: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chilton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,920 commuters (the 12% 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.
How many miles Chilton commutes
About 16% 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.
In Chilton, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,193 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). 7.1% of Chilton households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chilton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600, Chilton ranks 912th of 4,112 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 910 | Gray Summit MO | 2,991 | $66K | 4.2% | 2.2% | 2% | A− |
| 911 | Buellton CA | 5,158 | $100K | 4.9% | 2.2% | 12% | A− |
| 912 | Chilton WI | 4,183 | $83K | 7.8% | 1.2% | 27% | A− |
| 913 | Nags Head NC | 3,117 | $91K | 2.4% | 1.0% | 27% | A− |
| 914 | Grantham NH | 3,482 | $106K | 0.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | 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 Chilton, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns around Chilton
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chilton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilton | – | A− | A− | 18 min | $82,923 |
| Charlestown | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Charlestown: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chilton’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 Chilton: questions
What is the median household income in Chilton?
$82,923 (±$14,275) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chilton?
7.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chilton?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chilton work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Appleton (5%, 20 mi), Kiel (4%, 10 mi), Brillion (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chilton walkable?
Chilton is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chilton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chilton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chilton
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.