Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Iron River earn less than those in 77% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Iron River itself; outside it, Superior draws the most (12%, 36 miles). Poverty touches 9.6% of residents, next to 10.6% for Wisconsin as a whole. Jobs and income earn Iron River C−; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Iron River apart
Iron River’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Iron River is Superior, 36 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (59) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Iron River workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 507 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Iron River
On income, poverty and job access, Iron River is better than 16% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Iron River’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 2% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.3%) is left out: Iron River’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, Iron River could be anywhere from D to C.
How far it is to work from Iron River
About 23% 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.
From Iron River, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Iron River workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 441 commuters (the 12% 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 flow of workers through Iron River
On a workday 428 residents head out to work, 79 work right here, and 318 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 (0.78 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.
Out of Iron River to work: where people go
Where Iron River clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
What Iron River’s employers do
397 jobs are based in Iron River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Iron River, 2013 → 2023: 417 → 397. 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 Iron River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Iron River, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Iron River is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Iron River 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 501 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). 4.6% of Iron River households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Iron River’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Iron River ranks: 3,586th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,584 | Fairgrove Township MI | 1,528 | $51K | 10.5% | 1.4% | 3% | C− |
| 3,585 | Coventry NY | 1,484 | $63K | 15.0% | 3.6% | 1% | C− |
| 3,586 | Iron River WI | 1,274 | $58K | 9.6% | 1.3% | 16% | C− |
| 3,587 | Sheffield IA | 1,103 | $54K | 13.4% | 3.3% | 15% | C− |
| 3,588 | Kemp TX | 1,453 | $56K | 25.2% | 2.7% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | 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 Iron River, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Iron River and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Hughes (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Iron River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron River | – | C− | B | 29 min | $57,685 |
| Hughes | 3% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Tripp | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Delta | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Keystone | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Pilsen | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hughes, Tripp, Delta, Keystone and Pilsen: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Iron River’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 Iron River: questions
What is the median household income in Iron River?
$57,685 (±$6,443) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Iron River?
9.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Iron River?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Iron River work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Superior (12%, 36 mi), Duluth (9%, 40 mi), Ashland (8%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Iron River walkable?
Iron River is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Iron River without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Iron River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Iron River
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.