Work means Madison for about two in five of DeForest’s working residents
Measured by household income, DeForest is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. The two grades for DeForest are A for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten work in DeForest; the top destination outside it is Madison (41%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in DeForest
DeForest trades workers with the towns around it
DeForest has about as many jobs (6,210) as working residents (5,768), but they are mostly different people: 5,176 residents leave for work each day while 5,618 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in DeForest are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
41% of DeForest works in Madison
2,393 working residents, 41%, have their main job in Madison, 11 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in DeForest itself. The commute map ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
DeForest averages 26 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (19 to 21 minutes). Next door ↓
DeForest makes and builds things
45% of the jobs based in DeForest are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs DeForest residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
DeForest has added jobs fast
Jobs based in DeForest went from 4,573 in 2013 to 6,210 in 2023, +36%. 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.
DeForest’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, DeForest is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #106 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides DeForest’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, DeForest could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The daily flow of workers through DeForest
On a workday 5,176 residents head out to work, 592 work right here, and 5,618 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.08 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.
Commuting out of DeForest: the destinations
Where DeForest clocks in
41% of workers
3% 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.
A place that makes things: 45% of DeForest’s jobs are in goods
6,210 jobs are based in DeForest.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in DeForest, 2013 → 2023: 4,573 → 6,210. 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 DeForest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from DeForest: about 26 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of DeForest workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,993 commuters (the 20% 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.
How far DeForest goes to work
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.
Few in DeForest walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, DeForest is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #144 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 6,241 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 4.7% of DeForest households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of DeForest’s commuters take a bus or train.
How DeForest ranks: 411th of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Greenville WI | 13,388 | $118K | 1.7% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Whitefish Bay WI | 14,489 | $157K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Verona WI | 16,821 | $120K | 1.4% | 1.6% | 21% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 409 | Half Moon Bay CA | 11,287 | $158K | 5.6% | 2.4% | 16% | A |
| 410 | Middleburg Heights OH | 15,558 | $79K | 4.7% | 2.0% | 9% | A |
| 411 | DeForest WI | 13,094 | $106K | 5.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A |
| 412 | Kendall Township IL | 10,154 | $122K | 2.3% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| 413 | Plumstead Township PA | 14,357 | $138K | 4.5% | 4.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 DeForest, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Around DeForest: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Windsor (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of DeForest’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 DeForest: questions
What is the median household income in DeForest?
$106,419 (±$6,994) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in DeForest?
5.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from DeForest?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in DeForest work?
10% work in town.
Is DeForest walkable?
DeForest is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around DeForest 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 DeForest, from the people who make the trip.
More of DeForest
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.