Most of Jackson commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Hardly any work in Jackson; the top destination outside it is Wisconsin Dells (19%, 12 miles). 113 jobs are based in Jackson for 413 working residents. Jackson grades D for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Jackson
Jackson workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Jackson is a place people come home to
There are 113 jobs based in Jackson, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Jackson has about 880 people in it, 25% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 413 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Jackson’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Jackson is better than 14% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Jackson’s grade.
Unemployment (5.3%) is left out: Jackson’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, Jackson could be anywhere from D to C.
Each way, about 36 minutes from Jackson
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jackson workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 391 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 flow of workers through Jackson
On a workday 409 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 109 people come in from elsewhere.
About 880 people are in Jackson on a workday afternoon, 25% 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.
The towns that employ Jackson’s residents
Where Jackson clocks in
Lines 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 Jackson’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jackson, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 113. 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 Jackson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Jackson’s commute, mile by mile
About 25% 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 Jackson, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jackson is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 422 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). 4.3% of Jackson households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Jackson’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Jackson is 3,267th of 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,265 | Helena OK | 1,527 | $62K | 12.0% | 8.7% | 11% | D |
| 3,266 | Wysox Township PA | 1,545 | $60K | 13.0% | 7.8% | 12% | D |
| 3,267 | Jackson WI | 1,183 | $60K | 15.9% | 5.3% | 1% | D |
| 3,268 | Royalton MN | 1,274 | $55K | 26.7% | 11.1% | 4% | D |
| 3,269 | Los Indios TX | 1,059 | $45K | 19.4% | 7.2% | 0% | 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 Jackson, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Jackson and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jackson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | – | D | C− | 36 min | $59,500 |
| New Haven | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Oxford | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| New Chester | under 2% | D− | D− | 37 min | $49,028 |
| Douglas | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Springville | under 2% | C | C | 35 min | $62,667 |
Same-state neighbors only. New Haven, Oxford and Douglas: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Jackson’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 Jackson: questions
What is the median household income in Jackson?
$59,500 (±$9,522) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jackson?
15.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jackson?
36 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jackson work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wisconsin Dells (19%, 12 mi), Lake Delton (12%, 15 mi), Baraboo (6%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jackson walkable?
Jackson is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jackson without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jackson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jackson
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.