El Paso has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 1% work in El Paso; the top destination outside it is Red Wing (12%, 18 miles). There are 32 jobs in El Paso, against 298 working residents. Working residents average 36 minutes each way, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set El Paso apart
El Paso is a place people come home to
There are 32 jobs based in El Paso, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday El Paso has about 490 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
El Paso workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 298 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How a workday changes El Paso
On a workday 294 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 28 people come in from elsewhere.
About 490 people are in El Paso 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.
From El Paso, about 36 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of El Paso workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 306 commuters (the 13% 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.
Out of El Paso to work: where people go
Where El Paso clocks in
7% 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: 88% of El Paso’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in El Paso, 2013 → 2023: 34 → 32. 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 El Paso’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from El Paso
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Work in the towns next to El Paso
The biggest share goes to Salem (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | El Paso workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso | – | — | — | 36 min | $101,250 |
| Gilman | under 2% | B | C | 30 min | $107,969 |
| Rock Elm | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Salem | 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Ellsworth | under 2% | A− | C | 31 min | $121,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rock Elm and Salem: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of El Paso’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 El Paso: questions
What is the median household income in El Paso?
$101,250 (±$34,088) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in El Paso?
1.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from El Paso?
36 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in El Paso work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Red Wing (12%, 18 mi), Ellsworth (7%, 8 mi), Plum City (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around El Paso 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 El Paso, from the people who make the trip.
More of El Paso
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.