With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Eureka works elsewhere
There are 212 jobs in Eureka; 972 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Eureka B−; getting around on foot earns it D. Only 3% stay in Eureka for work; outside it, St. Croix Falls is the main destination (11%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Eureka
Eureka is a place people come home to
There are 212 jobs based in Eureka, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Eureka has about 1,000 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Eureka workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 77 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 972 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Eureka’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Eureka is better than 53% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Eureka’s grade up (5.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (4.5%) is left out: Eureka’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Eureka could be anywhere from C to B+.
The daily flow of workers through Eureka
On a workday 943 residents head out to work, 29 work right here, and 183 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Eureka on a workday afternoon, 43% 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.
How long Eureka spends getting to work: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eureka workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 631 commuters (the 14% 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.
Commuting out of Eureka: the destinations
Where Eureka clocks in
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.
Factories, building and farms: 47% of the jobs in Eureka
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eureka, 2013 → 2023: 70 → 212. 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 Eureka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Eureka commutes less than 28 miles
About 26% 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.
Most trips from Eureka start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Eureka is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 4.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 730 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). 0.0% of Eureka households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Eureka’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,122nd of 6,085: where Eureka ranks among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,120 | Western NY | 1,822 | $89K | 7.0% | 2.6% | 2% | B− |
| 2,121 | Holmes Township OH | 1,257 | $71K | 6.0% | 2.2% | 4% | B− |
| 2,122 | Eureka WI | 1,756 | $88K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 3% | B− |
| 2,123 | Kent Acres DE | 2,388 | $92K | 14.2% | 4.5% | 1% | B− |
| 2,124 | Mount Sterling OH | 2,051 | $73K | 12.5% | 4.8% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Eureka, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Eureka and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Milltown (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eureka workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka | – | B− | D | 32 min | $87,642 |
| Milltown | 2% | D | B | 39 min | $63,889 |
| Laketown | under 3% | C+ | C+ | 30 min | $83,030 |
| St. Croix Falls | under 3% | C+ | B− | 30 min | $81,818 |
| Sterling | under 3% | — | — | 39 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sterling: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Eureka’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 Eureka: questions
What is the median household income in Eureka?
$87,642 (±$14,866) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eureka?
5.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eureka?
32 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eureka work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Croix Falls (11%, 7 mi), Osceola (5%, 14 mi), Grantsburg (3%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Eureka walkable?
Eureka is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eureka without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eureka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eureka
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.