Households in Clifton have higher incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
4.3% of residents live below the poverty line; Wisconsin has 10.6%. Jobs and income earn Clifton A; getting around on foot earns it D. Home is the office for 21% of workers, against 13% across Wisconsin.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Clifton, in brief
Clifton is a place people come home to
There are 122 jobs based in Clifton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Clifton has about 1,700 people in it, 26% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Clifton and Prescott trade workers both ways
Prescott is the top workplace for Clifton residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Clifton come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Clifton 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 712 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Clifton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clifton is better than 91% of U.S. towns. Household income is its strongest input ($123,221, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clifton could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How a workday changes Clifton
On a workday 703 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 113 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Clifton on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.17 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 2024, primary jobs.
20% of working residents work in Prescott
Where Clifton clocks in
20% 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.
Time on the road from Clifton: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clifton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 948 commuters (the 21% 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: 48% of the jobs in Clifton
122 jobs are based in Clifton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clifton, 2014 → 2024: 79 → 122. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clifton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Clifton’s commute, mile by mile
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of Clifton, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clifton is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,198 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). 1.4% of Clifton households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Clifton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100, Clifton ranks 336th of 5,328 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 35 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Vandenbroek WI | 1,701 | $129K | 1.6% | 5.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 334 | Belleville WI | 2,705 | $88K | 4.0% | 0.9% | 7% | A |
| 335 | Pike Township PA | 1,632 | $106K | 3.6% | 0.5% | 2% | A |
| 336 | Clifton WI | 2,289 | $123K | 4.3% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| 337 | Lake Lotawana MO | 2,756 | $166K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 2% | A |
| 338 | Lima WI | 2,920 | $106K | 5.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Clifton, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Next door is work for 20% of Clifton
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clifton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | – | A | D | 29 min | $123,221 |
| Prescott | 20% | B | A− | 22 min | $74,412 |
| Troy | under 3% | A | D | 28 min | $161,161 |
| River Falls | under 3% | A | C+ | 31 min | $118,500 |
| Oak Grove | under 3% | A | C | 30 min | $153,279 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Prescott. Darker towns draw more of Clifton’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 2024, 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 Clifton: questions
What is the median household income in Clifton?
$123,221 (±$24,280) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clifton?
4.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clifton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clifton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Prescott (20%, 5 mi), River Falls (8%, 6 mi), Hastings (8%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Clifton walkable?
Clifton is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clifton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clifton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clifton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.