Eaton draws 536 commuters a day, with 2.3 jobs for every working resident
551 jobs are based in Eaton, and 244 of its residents work somewhere. Only 6% stay in Eaton for work; outside it, Neillsville is the main destination (10%, 12 miles). The average commute, 23 minutes each way, matches the Wisconsin norm.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Eaton at work: what stands out
Eaton makes and builds things
98% of the jobs based in Eaton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Eaton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 29%. The jobs ↓
Eaton is where the jobs are
Eaton has 551 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,000 people are in town, 43% more than the 710 who live here. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Eaton pay better than its residents’ jobs
89% of the jobs based in Eaton pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 58% of the jobs Eaton residents hold. 97% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Eaton. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 244 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Eaton makes things: 98% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eaton, 2014 → 2024: 551 → 551. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Eaton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Eaton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 229 residents head out to work and 15 work right here.
About 1,000 people are in Eaton on a workday afternoon, 43% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Eaton, and from where
Where Eaton clocks in
Lines 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.
Time on the road from Eaton: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eaton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 201 commuters (the 15% 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 Eaton’s workers travel
About 24% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The towns around Eaton
The biggest share goes to Greenwood (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eaton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton | – | — | — | 23 min | $66,875 |
| Greenwood | 9% | C− | A− | 32 min | $65,112 |
| Loyal | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Hendren | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Weston | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Warner | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Loyal and Weston: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Hendren and Warner: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Eaton’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 2024, 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 Eaton: questions
What is the median household income in Eaton?
$66,875 (±$25,731) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eaton?
16.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eaton?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eaton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Neillsville (10%, 12 mi), Greenwood (9%, 2 mi), Eau Claire (6%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Eaton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eaton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eaton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.