Photo: Downspec · CC BY-SA 4.0Hayward’s household incomes are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 22.1% of residents, next to 10.6% for Wisconsin as a whole. Jobs and income earn Hayward D; getting around on foot earns it A. About one in three work in Hayward; the top destination outside it is Hayward (21%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Hayward in brief
Hayward is where the jobs are
Hayward has 2,836 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,400 people are in town, 68% more than the 2,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Hayward are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wisconsin worker. Time on the road ↓
Hayward and Hayward trade workers both ways
Hayward is the top workplace for Hayward residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Hayward come from (13% 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.
The four measures behind Hayward’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hayward is better than 9% of U.S. towns, #353 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment holds Hayward’s grade up (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($45,665, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hayward could be anywhere from D− to C+.
The daily commute in and out of Hayward
On a workday 710 residents head out to work, 348 work right here, and 2,488 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Hayward on a workday afternoon, 68% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 12 minutes each way for Hayward’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hayward workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,076 commuters (the 7% 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.
The daily trip into Hayward
Where Hayward clocks in
21% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Hayward’s 2,836 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hayward, 2013 → 2023: 2,234 → 2,836. 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 Hayward’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Hayward, by distance
About 28% 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.
In Hayward, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hayward is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #32 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Hayward 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 1,154 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). 8.4% of Hayward households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hayward’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hayward places 4,526th of 5,083 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Sun Prairie WI | 2,291 | $127K | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 86 | Verona WI | 2,092 | $150K | 2.6% | 2.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,524 | Midland City AL | 2,298 | $28K | 30.6% | 0.9% | 3% | D |
| 4,525 | Yale MI | 1,873 | $53K | 18.0% | 16.1% | 9% | D |
| 4,526 | Hayward WI | 2,614 | $46K | 22.1% | 5.0% | 33% | D |
| 4,527 | Center Township IN | 2,801 | $53K | 16.2% | 8.2% | 22% | D |
| 4,528 | Chesterfield NY | 2,402 | $65K | 18.5% | 9.7% | 9% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Hayward, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
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 Hayward: questions
What is the median household income in Hayward?
$45,665 (±$11,216) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hayward?
22.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hayward?
12 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hayward work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hayward (21%, 4 mi), Bass Lake (3%, 5 mi), Superior (3%, 55 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hayward walkable?
Hayward is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hayward without a car?
0% 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 Hayward, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hayward
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.