With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Ithaca works elsewhere
133 jobs are based in Ithaca, against 264 working residents. Hardly any work in Ithaca; the top destination outside it is Richland Center (26%, 7 miles). Home is the office for 4% of workers, next to 13% for Wisconsin as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ithaca and work: the main findings
Ithaca and Richland Center trade workers both ways
Richland Center is the top workplace for Ithaca residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Ithaca come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Ithaca workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 264 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Ithaca: the destinations
Where Ithaca clocks in
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.
Commuting from Ithaca: about 22 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ithaca workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 301 commuters (the 4% 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.
Ithaca on a workday afternoon
On a workday 262 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 131 people come in from elsewhere.
About 500 people are in Ithaca on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What Ithaca’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ithaca, 2013 → 2023: 157 → 133. 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 Ithaca’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Ithaca’s workers travel
About 20% 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.
How Ithaca compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Richland (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ithaca workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca | – | — | — | 22 min | $96,080 |
| Bear Creek | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Willow | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Richland | 2% | B− | C− | 18 min | $94,167 |
| Buena Vista | under 2% | C | C− | 25 min | $73,281 |
Same-state neighbors only. Bear Creek and Willow: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ithaca’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 Ithaca: questions
What is the median household income in Ithaca?
$96,080 (±$11,352) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ithaca?
12.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ithaca?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ithaca work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richland Center (26%, 7 mi), Spring Green (5%, 14 mi), Madison (5%, 45 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ithaca without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ithaca, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ithaca
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.