Households in Iola earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
5% of workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. 13.7% of residents live below the poverty line; Wisconsin has 10.6%. Jobs and income earn Iola D; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Iola: the gist
The better-paid jobs are outside Iola
58% of Iola residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Iola pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 88% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Iola pay little
30% of the jobs based in Iola pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Iola than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Iola fell from 689 in 2013 to 482 in 2023, −30%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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; with 622 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Iola’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Iola is better than 13% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Iola’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($44,735, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (4.2%) is left out: Iola’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Iola could be anywhere from D to C−.
Inside Iola’s 482 jobs
482 jobs are based in Iola.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Iola, 2013 → 2023: 689 → 482. 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 Iola’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Iola
On a workday 547 residents head out to work, 75 work right here, and 407 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Iola on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.
14% of working residents work in Waupaca
Where Iola clocks in
14% 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.
From Iola, about 21 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Iola workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 468 commuters (the 5% 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.
Where in the region Iola works
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Iola
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Iola is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Iola 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 494 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). 11.3% of Iola households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Iola’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Iola is 3,358th among 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Big Bend WI | 1,498 | $135K | 3.2% | 0.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,356 | Oxford NY | 1,322 | $56K | 14.6% | 5.1% | 5% | D |
| 3,357 | Riddle OR | 1,218 | $67K | 19.0% | 6.1% | 6% | D |
| 3,358 | Iola WI | 1,210 | $45K | 13.7% | 4.2% | 12% | D |
| 3,359 | Martinsville Township IL | 1,486 | $67K | 19.3% | 3.6% | 7% | D |
| 3,360 | Cactus Flats AZ | 1,508 | $58K | 11.6% | 17.8% | <1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Iola, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns around Iola
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Iola workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iola | – | D | A | 21 min | $44,735 |
| Scandinavia | under 2% | B− | C− | 25 min | $89,583 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Iola’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 Iola: questions
What is the median household income in Iola?
$44,735 (±$12,222) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Iola?
13.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Iola?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Iola work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waupaca (14%, 11 mi), Stevens Point (10%, 21 mi), Appleton (3%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Iola walkable?
Iola is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Iola without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Iola, from the people who make the trip.
More of Iola
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.