Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Greenfield has lower unemployment (2.5%) than 77% of U.S. towns
Only 5% work in Greenfield; the top destination outside it is Milwaukee (31%, 7 miles). Jobs and income earn Greenfield A−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Working residents average 22 minutes each way, about the same as across Wisconsin.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Greenfield at work: what stands out
A lot of Greenfield works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Greenfield: Milwaukee (31%), West Allis (5%) and New Berlin (4%). Next door ↓
Most Greenfield residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Greenfield
63% of Greenfield residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Greenfield pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Greenfield
Job access by car holds Greenfield’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($70,459, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Greenfield could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Greenfield’s commute, mile by mile
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.
What the 13,323 jobs in Greenfield are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greenfield, 2013 → 2023: 13,259 → 13,323. 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 Greenfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Greenfield on a workday afternoon
On a workday 17,210 residents head out to work, 905 work right here, and 12,418 people come in from elsewhere.
About 32,000 people are in Greenfield on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.74 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 Greenfield’s residents
Where Greenfield clocks in
31% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
About 22 minutes each way, about the WI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greenfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16,573 commuters (the 14% 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.
Few in Greenfield walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greenfield is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #90 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 19,356 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 78% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 17% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.6% of Greenfield households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Greenfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Greenfield is 460th of 1,162 U.S. towns of 26,000 to 50,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Brookfield WI | 41,448 | $130K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | New Berlin WI | 39,953 | $101K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Oak Creek WI | 38,296 | $97K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 458 | Altadena CA | 41,705 | $129K | 7.9% | 6.4% | 5% | A− |
| 459 | Laguna Hills CA | 30,020 | $129K | 7.8% | 6.2% | 6% | A− |
| 460 | Greenfield WI | 37,159 | $70K | 8.6% | 2.5% | 5% | A− |
| 461 | Glenville NY | 29,701 | $98K | 4.6% | 4.7% | 10% | A− |
| 462 | Valrico FL | 40,239 | $105K | 9.9% | 3.4% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Greenfield, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Next door is work for 42% of Greenfield
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Greenfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield | – | A− | B+ | 22 min | $70,459 |
| Milwaukee | 31% | C | A+ | 22 min | $54,234 |
| Greendale | under 3% | A | B | 23 min | $94,769 |
| Hales Corners | under 3% | A | A− | 23 min | $87,740 |
| West Allis | 5% | B | A | 21 min | $67,611 |
| Franklin | 2% | A | B− | 23 min | $106,894 |
| New Berlin | 4% | A+ | C | 22 min | $101,091 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Milwaukee. Darker towns draw more of Greenfield’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 Greenfield: questions
What is the median household income in Greenfield?
$70,459 (±$4,265) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greenfield?
8.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greenfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greenfield work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (31%, 7 mi), Wauwatosa (7%, 7 mi), West Allis (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Greenfield walkable?
Greenfield is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greenfield without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 17% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Greenfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greenfield
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.