Fern School · Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC0Most of Fern commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Hardly any work in Fern; the top destination outside it is Iron Mountain (22%, 15 miles). 34 jobs are based in Fern, against 94 working residents. 31% of workers have no commute at all, next to 13% for Wisconsin as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fern on a workday afternoon
On a workday 94 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 34 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in Fern on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
Where Fern’s working residents head each day
Where Fern clocks in
22% of workers
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.
Factories, building and farms: 74% of the jobs in Fern
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fern, 2013 → 2023: 64 → 34. 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 Fern’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 46 minutes in Fern
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fern workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 36 commuters (the 31% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Fern
About 33% 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.
14% of Fern works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fern workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fern | – | — | — | 46 min | $83,510 |
| Florence | 14% | C− | C− | 18 min | $58,832 |
| Commonwealth | under 3% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Fence | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Commonwealth and Fence: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Florence. Darker towns draw more of Fern’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 Fern: questions
What is the median household income in Fern?
$83,510 (±$4,680) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fern?
1.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fern?
46 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 31% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fern work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iron Mountain (22%, 15 mi), Florence (14%, 5 mi), Kingsford (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fern without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fern, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fern
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.