Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0Households in Cottage Grove earn more than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Only 7% stay in Cottage Grove for work; outside it, Madison is the main destination (50%, 11 miles). 3.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.6% across Wisconsin. The two grades for Cottage Grove are A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Cottage Grove and work: the main findings
More than half of Cottage Grove works in Madison
1,980 working residents, 50%, have their main job in Madison, 11 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in Cottage Grove itself. The commute map ↓
Cottage Grove has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Cottage Grove went from 1,705 in 2013 to 3,039 in 2023, +78%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Cottage Grove’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cottage Grove is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #13 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment is its strongest input (0.9%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 79% 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, Cottage Grove could be anywhere from A to A+.
Commuting out of Cottage Grove: the destinations
Where Cottage Grove clocks in
50% 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.
66% of the jobs in Cottage Grove pay over $3,333 a month
3,039 jobs are based in Cottage Grove.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cottage Grove, 2013 → 2023: 1,705 → 3,039. 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 Cottage Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Cottage Grove on a workday
On a workday 3,717 residents head out to work, 259 work right here, and 2,780 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,000 people are in Cottage Grove on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
The daily trip from Cottage Grove: 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 Cottage Grove workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,329 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.
Miles to work from Cottage Grove
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.
Cottage Grove is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cottage Grove is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #201 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of 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 5,240 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.4% of Cottage Grove households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cottage Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Cottage Grove is 72nd of 2,862 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Loudoun Valley Estates VA | 10,271 | $225K | 4.0% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| 71 | Hillsdale NJ | 10,214 | $187K | 2.2% | 3.4% | 5% | A+ |
| 72 | Cottage Grove WI | 8,930 | $139K | 3.7% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| 73 | Fairwood MD | 7,526 | $181K | 6.5% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| 74 | Lincolnshire IL | 7,963 | $186K | 5.2% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,862 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Cottage Grove, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Next door to Cottage Grove
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cottage Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Grove | – | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $139,313 |
| Sun Prairie | under 2% | A+ | D | 23 min | $127,321 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cottage Grove’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 Cottage Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Cottage Grove?
$139,313 (±$10,732) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cottage Grove?
3.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cottage Grove?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cottage Grove work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (50%, 11 mi), Monona (4%, 7 mi), Sun Prairie (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cottage Grove walkable?
Cottage Grove is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cottage Grove without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cottage Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cottage Grove
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.