Milwaukee Falls Lime Company · Photo: Sallyajackson · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Grafton (2.4%) than in 79% of U.S. towns
Grafton grades A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in seven stay in Grafton for work; outside it, Milwaukee is the main destination (18%, 18 miles). The average commute takes 25 minutes each way; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Grafton stands out on work
Grafton trades workers with the towns around it
Grafton has about as many jobs (6,746) as working residents (6,170), but they are mostly different people: 5,404 residents leave for work each day while 5,980 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in Grafton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Grafton and Milwaukee trade workers both ways
Milwaukee is the top workplace for Grafton residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Grafton come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Grafton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grafton is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #92 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.7%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($89,861, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Grafton could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who works in Grafton, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 5,404 residents head out to work, 766 work right here, and 5,980 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Grafton’s residents
Where Grafton clocks in
18% of workers
7% 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.
Grafton works in goods: 29% of its jobs
6,746 jobs are based in Grafton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grafton, 2013 → 2023: 6,173 → 6,746. 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 Grafton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Grafton takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grafton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,824 commuters (the 15% 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 far it is to work from Grafton
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 of Grafton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Grafton is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #187 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,849 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). 4.0% of Grafton households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Grafton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Grafton is 355th among 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Greenville WI | 13,388 | $118K | 1.7% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Whitefish Bay WI | 14,489 | $157K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 79 | Verona WI | 16,821 | $120K | 1.4% | 1.6% | 21% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 353 | Palos Heights IL | 12,084 | $109K | 5.2% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| 354 | Hooper UT | 9,741 | $113K | 4.4% | 2.0% | 4% | A |
| 355 | Grafton WI | 13,389 | $90K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 12% | A |
| 356 | Ballston NY | 13,547 | $116K | 4.9% | 1.9% | 10% | A |
| 357 | Gilberts IL | 9,082 | $146K | 5.5% | 3.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Grafton, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns around Grafton
The biggest share goes to Cedarburg (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Grafton’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 Grafton: questions
What is the median household income in Grafton?
$89,861 (±$12,093) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grafton?
3.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grafton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grafton work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (18%, 18 mi), Mequon (7%, 9 mi), Cedarburg (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Grafton walkable?
Grafton is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grafton 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 Grafton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grafton
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.