Photo: Iulus Ascanius at English Wikipedia · Public domainUnemployment in Ellsworth (0.8%) is lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 25 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Ellsworth is better than 74% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (C). About one in five work in Ellsworth; the top destination outside it is Red Wing (9%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Ellsworth apart on work
A lot of Ellsworth workers cross into Minnesota
25% of Ellsworth workers work outside Wisconsin, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Red Wing (9%), Rosemount (2%) and Cottage Grove (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Ellsworth trades workers with the towns around it
Ellsworth has about as many jobs (1,648) as working residents (1,471), but they are mostly different people: 1,139 residents leave for work each day while 1,316 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Ellsworth are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Ellsworth’s grade explained
Unemployment holds Ellsworth’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 44% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ellsworth could be anywhere from B− to A.
Where the trip to work from Ellsworth ends
Where Ellsworth clocks in
6% 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.
How a workday changes Ellsworth
On a workday 1,139 residents head out to work, 332 work right here, and 1,316 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Jobs in Ellsworth: what the 1,648 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ellsworth, 2013 → 2023: 1,409 → 1,648. 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 Ellsworth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ellsworth workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,503 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Ellsworth
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Ellsworth is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,711 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). 1.2% of Ellsworth households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ellsworth’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ellsworth is 1,121st among 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,119 | Hackberry TX | 2,954 | $110K | 10.9% | 4.9% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,120 | Baldwin WI | 4,347 | $77K | 9.7% | 0.3% | 17% | B+ |
| 1,121 | Ellsworth WI | 3,336 | $88K | 8.6% | 0.8% | 23% | B+ |
| 1,122 | Portsmouth Township MI | 3,139 | $79K | 6.6% | 2.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,123 | Burke WI | 3,089 | $104K | 1.0% | 12.4% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Ellsworth, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Ellsworth and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Ellsworth’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 Ellsworth: questions
What is the median household income in Ellsworth?
$87,857 (±$19,607) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ellsworth?
8.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ellsworth?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ellsworth work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Red Wing (9%, 12 mi), River Falls (7%, 11 mi), Hudson (6%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ellsworth walkable?
Ellsworth is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ellsworth without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ellsworth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ellsworth
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. 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.