Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Cross Plains (0.9%) is lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income A+: better than 97% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #28 of 362 in Wisconsin.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns · #80 of 362 in Wisconsin.
Household incomes here are higher than in 81% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 23 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Cross Plains; the top destination outside it is Madison (39%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Cross Plains, in brief
39% of Cross Plains works in Madison
898 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Madison, 11 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Cross Plains itself. The commute map ↓
Cross Plains makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Cross Plains are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Cross Plains residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. 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.
What’s behind Cross Plains’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cross Plains is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #28 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate is its strongest input (1.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cross Plains could be anywhere from A to A+.
39% of working residents work in Madison
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Cross Plains clocks in
39% of workers
13% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Cross Plains makes things: 37% of its jobs are in goods
1,204 jobs are based in Cross Plains. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cross Plains’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cross Plains, 2013 → 2023: 1,196 → 1,204. 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.
Cross Plains quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,083 residents head out to work, 213 work right here, and 991 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Cross Plains on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.52 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 2023, primary jobs.
About 23 minutes each way, about the WI average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cross Plains workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,834 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Cross Plains commutes less than 12 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Cross Plains start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cross Plains is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #80 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Cross Plains near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,249 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 0.0 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). 5.1% of Cross Plains households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cross Plains’ commuters take a bus or train.
Cross Plains is 128th of 4,112 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Cross Plains, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Moreland Hills OH | 3,473 | $186K | 4.0% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 127 | Shady Shores TX | 2,998 | $159K | 2.8% | 3.4% | <1% | A+ |
| 128 | Cross Plains WI | 4,182 | $105K | 1.3% | 0.9% | 9% | A+ |
| 129 | Pleasant Township KS | 5,459 | $113K | 0.8% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| 130 | West Amwell Township NJ | 3,037 | $151K | 2.4% | 2.5% | 8% | 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.
Cross Plains and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Cross Plains’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cross Plains workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross Plains | – | A+ | B+ | 23 min | $105,145 |
| Berry | under 2% | A− | C+ | 23 min | $83,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Cross Plains: questions
What is the median household income in Cross Plains?
$105,145 (±$12,082) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cross Plains?
1.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cross Plains?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cross Plains work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (39%, 11 mi), Middleton (13%, 7 mi), Fitchburg (2%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cross Plains walkable?
Cross Plains is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cross Plains without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cross Plains, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cross Plains
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.