With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Dunbar works elsewhere
Working residents average 35 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. 38 jobs are based in Dunbar, and 252 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Dunbar itself; outside it, Iron Mountain draws the most (10%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Dunbar in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Dunbar than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Dunbar fell from 412 in 2013 to 38 in 2023, −91%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Dunbar is a place people come home to
There are 38 jobs based in Dunbar, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dunbar has about 400 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Dunbar workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (17 to 29 minutes). 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 252 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Dunbar is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dunbar, 2013 → 2023: 412 → 38. 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 Dunbar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Dunbar, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 247 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 33 people come in from elsewhere.
About 400 people are in Dunbar on a workday afternoon, 35% 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 daily trip from Dunbar: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dunbar workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 214 commuters (the 14% 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.
Commuting out of Dunbar: the destinations
Where Dunbar clocks in
10% of workers
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.
Dunbar’s commute, mile by mile
About 37% 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 is work for 16% of Dunbar
The biggest share goes to Pembine (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dunbar workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunbar | – | — | — | 35 min | $54,688 |
| Goodman | 4% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Pembine | 8% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Athelstane | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Aurora | under 3% | C+ | D | 20 min | $78,935 |
| Beecher | 4% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Homestead | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Niagara | under 3% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Goodman, Pembine, Athelstane, Beecher and Homestead: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Niagara: the same community as the city of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dunbar’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 Dunbar: questions
What is the median household income in Dunbar?
$54,688 (±$20,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dunbar?
7.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dunbar?
35 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dunbar work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iron Mountain (10%, 14 mi), Pembine (8%, 10 mi), Marinette (5%, 45 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dunbar 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 Dunbar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dunbar
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.