Most of Delta commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
The trip to work takes 28 minutes on average (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). Employers in Delta report 33 jobs; 133 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Delta itself; outside it, Ashland draws the most (22%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Delta, and who commutes in
On a workday 133 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 33 people come in from elsewhere.
About 230 people are in Delta on a workday afternoon, 30% 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 towns that employ Delta’s residents
Where Delta clocks in
22% of workers
12% of workers
11% 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.
Most jobs in Delta are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Delta, 2013 → 2023: 38 → 33. 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 Delta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Delta: 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 Delta workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 89 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far it is to work from Delta
About 20% 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.
13% of Delta works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Iron River (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Delta workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta | – | — | — | 28 min | $80,469 |
| Drummond | 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Barnes | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Keystone | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Iron River | 11% | C− | B | 29 min | $57,685 |
| Mason | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Hughes | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Drummond, Barnes, Keystone, Mason and Hughes: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Delta’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 Delta: questions
What is the median household income in Delta?
$80,469 (±$11,281) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Delta?
6.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Delta?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Delta work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ashland (22%, 22 mi), Superior (12%, 41 mi), Iron River (11%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Delta without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Delta, from the people who make the trip.
More of Delta
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.