Photo: Chris Rand · CC BY-SA 4.0Green Bay has 1.3 jobs for every working resident: 41,921 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B−: better than 51% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #286 of 362 in Wisconsin.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns · #87 of 362 in Wisconsin.
Household incomes here are lower than in 64% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). About one in three work in Green Bay; the top destination outside it is Ashwaubenon (13%, 6 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 Green Bay
What’s behind Green Bay’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Green Bay is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #286 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car holds Green Bay’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Green Bay could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Half of Green Bay commutes less than 5 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 16% 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.
Green Bay fills up on a workday
On a workday 29,128 residents head out to work, 17,799 work right here, and 41,921 people come in from elsewhere.
About 119,000 people are in Green Bay on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 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.
13% of working residents work in Ashwaubenon
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Green Bay clocks in
6% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 59,720 jobs in Green Bay are
59,720 jobs are based in Green Bay. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Green Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Green Bay, 2013 → 2023: 58,292 → 59,720. 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.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Wisconsin
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Green Bay workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 48,000 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Most trips from Green Bay start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Green Bay is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #87 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Green Bay near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 53,774 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). 8.2% of Green Bay households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Green Bay’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Green Bay is 259th of 402 U.S. towns of 75,000 to 144,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Green Bay, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Appleton WI | 75,452 | $80K | 8.3% | 3.5% | 25% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 257 | Perris CA | 83,237 | $89K | 10.7% | 7.9% | 9% | B− |
| 258 | Kenosha WI | 99,239 | $71K | 13.7% | 4.5% | 29% | B− |
| 259 | Green Bay WI | 106,675 | $66K | 14.7% | 3.7% | 38% | B− |
| 260 | Danbury CT | 89,033 | $83K | 11.7% | 6.5% | 31% | B− |
| 261 | Parma OH | 78,581 | $69K | 10.1% | 6.5% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 346 | Racine WI | 77,908 | $58K | 18.2% | 6.1% | 23% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 402 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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.
23% of Green Bay works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Ashwaubenon (13%). Darker towns draw more of Green Bay’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Green Bay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay | – | B− | B+ | 19 min | $66,206 |
| Scott | under 2% | A | D | 24 min | $108,444 |
| Ashwaubenon | 13% | B | B+ | 16 min | $69,667 |
| Bellevue | 4% | A | C | 20 min | $84,672 |
| Howard | 4% | A | C | 20 min | $85,477 |
| Hobart | under 2% | A+ | C | 19 min | $103,440 |
| Humboldt | under 2% | A− | C | 26 min | $93,417 |
| Allouez | 2% | A | B | 19 min | $91,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Green Bay: questions
What is the median household income in Green Bay?
$66,206 (±$2,083) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Green Bay?
14.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Green Bay?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Green Bay work?
38% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ashwaubenon (13%, 6 mi), De Pere (6%, 8 mi), Howard (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Green Bay walkable?
Green Bay is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Green Bay without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Green Bay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Green Bay
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.