With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Garden Valley works elsewhere
Hardly any stay in Garden Valley for work; outside it, Black River Falls is the main destination (10%, 14 miles). 71 jobs are based in Garden Valley, against 178 working residents. The trip to work takes 34 minutes on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Garden Valley, and who commutes in
On a workday 178 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 71 people come in from elsewhere.
About 270 people are in Garden Valley on a workday afternoon, 28% 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 places Garden Valley commutes to
Where Garden Valley clocks in
Lines 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.
Goods, not services: 72% of the jobs in Garden Valley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Garden Valley, 2014 → 2024: 45 → 71. 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 Garden Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Garden Valley: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Garden Valley workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 132 commuters (the 18% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Garden Valley
About 24% 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.
Garden Valley and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Northfield (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Garden Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Valley | – | — | — | 34 min | $62,500 |
| Alma | under 2% | C+ | D | 36 min | $76,029 |
| Northfield | 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Hixton | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Cleveland | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Alma Center | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Mentor | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Northfield, Hixton, Alma Center and Mentor: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Cleveland: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Garden Valley’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 Garden Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Garden Valley?
$62,500 (±$14,124) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Garden Valley?
17.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Garden Valley?
34 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Garden Valley work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Black River Falls (10%, 14 mi), Osseo (9%, 14 mi), Whitehall (6%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Garden Valley 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 Garden Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Garden Valley
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.