Jefferson has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
181 jobs are based in Jefferson, against 472 working residents. Jobs and income earn Jefferson C; getting around on foot earns it C+. Only 2% stay in Jefferson for work; outside it, Monroe is the main destination (34%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Jefferson, in a few figures
Jefferson and Monroe trade workers both ways
Monroe is the top workplace for Jefferson residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in Jefferson come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Jefferson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Jefferson fell from 300 in 2013 to 181 in 2023, −40%. 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 472 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Jefferson’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Jefferson is better than 29% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Jefferson’s grade.
Unemployment (2.0%) is left out: Jefferson’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, Jefferson could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Where Jefferson goes to work
Where Jefferson clocks in
34% of workers
9% 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.
The kinds of work in Jefferson
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 300 → 181. 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 Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Jefferson
On a workday 463 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 172 people come in from elsewhere.
About 860 people are in Jefferson 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.
Getting to work from Jefferson takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jefferson workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 579 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.
How many miles Jefferson commutes
About 15% 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.
Jefferson is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jefferson is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 623 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). 0.5% of Jefferson households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Jefferson places 2,443rd of 4,312 on jobs and income among 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,441 | West Sparta NY | 1,145 | $73K | 10.6% | 2.5% | 1% | C |
| 2,442 | Dudley Township OH | 1,448 | $78K | 23.3% | 3.4% | <1% | C |
| 2,443 | Jefferson WI | 1,152 | $70K | 14.5% | 2.0% | 2% | C |
| 2,444 | Genesee ID | 1,094 | $86K | 12.0% | 4.1% | 3% | C |
| 2,445 | Royalton IL | 1,031 | $59K | 11.0% | 0.2% | 3% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Jefferson and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Clarno (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jefferson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | – | C | C+ | 21 min | $70,368 |
| Sylvester | under 2% | A− | D | 21 min | $111,375 |
| Spring Grove | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Clarno | 3% | C+ | C+ | 23 min | $84,375 |
Same-state neighbors only. Spring Grove: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Jefferson’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 Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in Jefferson?
$70,368 (±$5,802) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jefferson?
14.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jefferson?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jefferson work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Monroe (34%, 6 mi), Madison (9%, 37 mi), Fitchburg (3%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jefferson walkable?
Jefferson is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jefferson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jefferson
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.