Households in Empire earn more than those in 90% of U.S. towns
At 22 minutes each way, commutes from Empire run about the Wisconsin average. Poverty touches 2.0% of residents, where Wisconsin as a whole has 10.6%. The two grades for Empire are A+ for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Empire, in a few figures
39% of Empire works in Fond du Lac
591 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Fond du Lac, 5.2 miles away across the town line. That’s 20 times as many as work in Empire itself. The commute map ↓
The jobs in Empire pay better than its residents’ jobs
82% of the jobs based in Empire pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 67% of the jobs Empire residents hold. 96% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Empire. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Empire’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Empire is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #29 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment is its strongest input (0.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Empire could be anywhere from A to A+.
39% of working residents work in Fond du Lac
Where Empire clocks in
39% of workers
6% of workers
2% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
679 jobs are based in Empire.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Empire, 2013 → 2023: 167 → 679. 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 Empire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Empire, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,475 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 652 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Empire on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.45 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 22 minutes in Empire
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Empire workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,395 commuters (the 7% 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 many miles Empire commutes
About 16% 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.
Few in Empire walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Empire is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns, #354 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Empire 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 1,505 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). 1.1% of Empire households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Empire’s commuters take a bus or train.
Empire is 118th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Center WI | 3,706 | $115K | 1.6% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Wea Township KS | 2,089 | $133K | 2.0% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| 117 | Somerford Township OH | 3,078 | $117K | 3.5% | 1.0% | 3% | A+ |
| 118 | Empire WI | 2,790 | $125K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 119 | Rancho Santa Fe CA | 2,260 | $176K | 4.9% | 9.8% | 3% | A+ |
| 120 | Gates Mills OH | 2,236 | $231K | 6.1% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Empire, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work next door: 39% of Empire’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Empire workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire | – | A+ | D | 22 min | $125,185 |
| Fond du Lac | 39% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $62,260 |
| Eden | under 2% | A | D | 21 min | $110,000 |
| Forest | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Taycheedah | under 2% | A | C− | 25 min | $105,690 |
| Fond du Lac | under 2% | A | C+ | 19 min | $106,179 |
Same-state neighbors only. Forest: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fond du Lac. Darker towns draw more of Empire’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 Empire: questions
What is the median household income in Empire?
$125,185 (±$15,765) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Empire?
2.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Empire?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Empire work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fond du Lac (39%, 5 mi), Oshkosh (6%, 22 mi), Madison (2%, 71 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Empire walkable?
Empire is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Empire without a car?
<1% 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 Empire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Empire
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.