Dayton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Hardly any work in Dayton; the top destination outside it is Richland Center (27%, 5 miles). Dayton has 50 jobs, against 304 working residents. A typical one-way commute lasts 27 minutes; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Dayton: the figures worth knowing
Dayton is a place people come home to
There are 50 jobs based in Dayton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dayton has about 420 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Dayton and Richland Center trade workers both ways
Richland Center is the top workplace for Dayton residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Dayton come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Dayton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 38 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 304 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who commutes out of Dayton, and who commutes in
On a workday 302 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 420 people are in Dayton on a workday afternoon, 38% 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.
Where people from Dayton work
Where Dayton clocks in
5% 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.
Getting to work from Dayton takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dayton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 295 commuters (the 7% 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.
Jobs in Dayton: what the 50 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 34 → 50. 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 Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Dayton
About 28% 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 Dayton
The biggest share goes to Richland (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dayton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | – | — | — | 27 min | $60,625 |
| Richland | 3% | B− | C− | 18 min | $94,167 |
| Marshall | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Akan | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Eagle | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Marshall: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Akan and Eagle: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dayton’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 Dayton: questions
What is the median household income in Dayton?
$60,625 (±$21,094) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dayton?
12.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dayton?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dayton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richland Center (27%, 5 mi), Spring Green (5%, 24 mi), Madison (5%, 56 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dayton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dayton
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.