Jackson has lower unemployment (1.5%) than 90% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Jackson is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Jackson A; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 5% stay in Jackson for work; outside it, Milwaukee is the main destination (15%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Jackson, in a few figures
Jackson trades workers with the towns around it
Jackson has about as many jobs (3,628) as working residents (4,063), but they are mostly different people: 3,848 residents leave for work each day while 3,413 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Jackson are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Jackson makes and builds things
43% of the jobs based in Jackson are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Jackson residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 27%. The jobs ↓
Jackson has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Jackson went from 2,370 in 2013 to 3,628 in 2023, +53%. The jobs ↓
Jackson workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Jackson’s grade explained
Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($93,170, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jackson could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How a workday changes Jackson
On a workday 3,848 residents head out to work, 215 work right here, and 3,413 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 (0.89 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.
Jackson makes things: 43% of its jobs are in goods
3,628 jobs are based in Jackson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jackson, 2013 → 2023: 2,370 → 3,628. 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.
From Jackson, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 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 3,922 commuters (the 16% 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 people from Jackson work
Where Jackson clocks in
15% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Jackson
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.
Driving is how Jackson gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jackson is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns, #287 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,696 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). 2.0% 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 416th of 3,012 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 414 | Felida WA | 10,841 | $165K | 1.9% | 4.3% | 3% | A |
| 415 | Park City UT | 8,587 | $134K | 6.5% | 0.8% | 42% | A |
| 416 | Jackson WI | 8,322 | $93K | 6.0% | 1.5% | 5% | A |
| 417 | Stow MA | 7,248 | $186K | 5.2% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| 418 | Aiea HI | 9,087 | $140K | 5.3% | 3.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,012 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
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?
$93,170 (±$17,242) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jackson?
6.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jackson?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jackson work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (15%, 20 mi), West Bend (8%, 7 mi), Germantown (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jackson walkable?
Jackson is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jackson without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% 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.