Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Cold Spring
10% of workers work from home, where Wisconsin as a whole has 13%. The average commute takes 25 minutes each way; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26. 396 jobs are based in Cold Spring; 282 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Cold Spring: the gist
Cold Spring and Whitewater trade workers both ways
Whitewater is the top workplace for Cold Spring residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Cold Spring come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Cold Spring pay better than its residents’ jobs
78% of the jobs based in Cold Spring pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 61% of the jobs Cold Spring residents hold. 99% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Cold Spring. 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 282 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
19% of working residents work in Whitewater
Where Cold Spring clocks in
19% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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.
78% of the jobs in Cold Spring pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cold Spring, 2013 → 2023: 244 → 396. 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 Cold Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Cold Spring fills up on a workday
On a workday 280 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 394 people come in from elsewhere.
About 840 people are in Cold Spring on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Cold Spring takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cold Spring workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 462 commuters (the 10% 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.
Cold Spring’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The towns next door employ 19% of Cold Spring
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cold Spring workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Spring | – | — | — | 25 min | $125,000 |
| Hebron | under 2% | B+ | D | 27 min | $94,438 |
| Whitewater | 19% | B− | A− | 17 min | $54,969 |
| Koshkonong | under 2% | A | C− | 19 min | $102,831 |
| Palmyra | under 2% | A− | B− | 28 min | $86,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Whitewater. Darker towns draw more of Cold Spring’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 Cold Spring: questions
What is the median household income in Cold Spring?
$125,000 (±$22,262) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cold Spring?
4.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cold Spring?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cold Spring work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Whitewater (19%, 3 mi), Fort Atkinson (7%, 7 mi), Madison (7%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cold Spring without a car?
<1% 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 Cold Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cold Spring
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.