Anderson, Brady and Waldermar Ager House · Photo: Jeff the quiet · CC0Eau Claire has lower unemployment (3.4%) than 63% of U.S. towns
About half work in Eau Claire; the top destination outside it is Union (5%, 5 miles). Jobs and income earn Eau Claire B−; getting around on foot earns it A−. Working residents average 17 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Eau Claire
Commutes from Eau Claire are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wisconsin worker. Time on the road ↓
Eau Claire gains people on a workday
About 87,000 people are in Eau Claire on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 72,000 who live here: 30,000 come in to work and 15,000 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
Why Eau Claire gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Eau Claire is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #293 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car holds Eau Claire’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.3%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Eau Claire could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Getting to work from Eau Claire takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eau Claire workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 34,403 commuters (the 12% 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 a workday changes Eau Claire
On a workday 15,236 residents head out to work, 14,585 work right here, and 29,963 people come in from elsewhere.
About 87,000 people are in Eau Claire on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Eau Claire goes to work
Where Eau Claire clocks in
5% 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.
The 44,548 jobs based in Eau Claire
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eau Claire, 2014 → 2024: 44,636 → 44,548. 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 Eau Claire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Eau Claire
About 19% 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.
Eau Claire is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Eau Claire is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #39 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Eau Claire near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 39,256 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.7% of Eau Claire households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Eau Claire’s commuters take a bus or train.
408th of 599: where Eau Claire ranks among U.S. towns of 51,000 to 98,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Waukesha WI | 70,872 | $84K | 9.8% | 2.7% | 20% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Appleton WI | 75,452 | $80K | 8.3% | 3.5% | 25% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 335 | West Allis WI | 60,119 | $68K | 11.5% | 4.1% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 406 | Oshkosh WI | 67,460 | $62K | 17.5% | 2.8% | 42% | B− |
| 407 | South Gate CA | 90,071 | $75K | 12.7% | 7.4% | 5% | B− |
| 408 | Eau Claire WI | 72,465 | $67K | 14.3% | 3.4% | 49% | B− |
| 409 | Twin Falls ID | 56,216 | $61K | 11.4% | 3.0% | 56% | B− |
| 410 | Port Orange FL | 66,395 | $74K | 11.0% | 4.7% | 14% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 599 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 Eau Claire, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
14% of Eau Claire works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eau Claire workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eau Claire | – | B− | A− | 17 min | $67,395 |
| Washington | 2% | A | C+ | 18 min | $109,984 |
| Union | 5% | A | C | 17 min | $95,217 |
| Seymour | under 1% | A | C | 19 min | $107,436 |
| Altoona | 5% | B | B+ | 18 min | $84,552 |
| Lake Hallie | 2% | B+ | B− | 19 min | $86,740 |
| Wheaton | under 1% | A− | B− | 19 min | $103,053 |
| Brunswick | under 1% | A− | C | 23 min | $92,426 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Union. Darker towns draw more of Eau Claire’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 Eau Claire: questions
What is the median household income in Eau Claire?
$67,395 (±$3,463) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eau Claire?
14.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eau Claire?
17 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eau Claire work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Union (5%, 5 mi), Chippewa Falls (5%, 10 mi), Altoona (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Eau Claire walkable?
Eau Claire is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eau Claire without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eau Claire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eau Claire
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. 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.