Fairbanks has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
39 jobs are based in Fairbanks; 272 of its residents have a job. Only 2% stay in Fairbanks for work; outside it, Antigo is the main destination (7%, 30 miles). The average commute takes 36 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 sets Fairbanks apart on work
Fairbanks is a place people come home to
There are 39 jobs based in Fairbanks, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Fairbanks has about 300 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fairbanks 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. Every town next door averages less (23 to 32 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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; with 272 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many people are in Fairbanks by day
On a workday 266 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 33 people come in from elsewhere.
About 300 people are in Fairbanks on a workday afternoon, 44% 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 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip from Fairbanks: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairbanks workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 158 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.
Where the trip to work from Fairbanks ends
Where Fairbanks clocks in
7% of workers
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.
Fairbanks makes things: 46% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairbanks, 2014 → 2024: 29 → 39. 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 Fairbanks’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Fairbanks commutes
About 27% 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.
Fairbanks and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairbanks workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks | – | — | — | 36 min | $55,417 |
| Wyoming | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Morris | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Grant | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Germania | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Harrison | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wyoming, Morris and Germania: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Grant and Harrison: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairbanks’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 Fairbanks: questions
What is the median household income in Fairbanks?
$55,417 (±$16,104) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairbanks?
12.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairbanks?
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 Fairbanks work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Antigo (7%, 30 mi), Shawano (6%, 23 mi), Tigerton (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Fairbanks without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairbanks, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairbanks
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.