With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Colfax works elsewhere
Only 1% stay in Colfax for work; outside it, Menomonie is the main destination (26%, 12 miles). 83 jobs are based in Colfax for 560 working residents. A typical one-way commute lasts 28 minutes, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Colfax stands out on work
Colfax is a place people come home to
There are 83 jobs based in Colfax, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Colfax has about 800 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Colfax 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 560 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Colfax: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 553 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 76 people come in from elsewhere.
About 800 people are in Colfax on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
The daily trip from Colfax: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colfax workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 620 commuters (the 11% 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.
Commuting out of Colfax: the destinations
Where Colfax 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.
Colfax works in goods: 47% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colfax, 2013 → 2023: 46 → 83. 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 Colfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Colfax goes to work
About 24% 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.
Next door to Colfax
The biggest share goes to Tainter (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Colfax workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax | – | — | — | 28 min | $101,786 |
| Tainter | 2% | B+ | D− | 23 min | $102,750 |
| Grant | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Elk Mound | under 2% | B+ | D | 24 min | $89,327 |
| Howard | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Tainter Lake | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Grant and Howard: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Tainter Lake: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Colfax’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 Colfax: questions
What is the median household income in Colfax?
$101,786 (±$13,105) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colfax?
3.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colfax?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colfax work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Menomonie (26%, 12 mi), Eau Claire (16%, 16 mi), Colfax (5%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Colfax without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colfax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colfax
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.