Photo: Tjrudebeck at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Kaukauna (3.0%) is lower than in 70% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Kaukauna for work; outside it, Appleton is the main destination (17%, 6 miles). For jobs and income Kaukauna is better than 75% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). Working residents average 21 minutes each way, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Kaukauna stands out on work
Kaukauna makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Kaukauna are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Kaukauna residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 30%. The jobs ↓
Kaukauna and Appleton trade workers both ways
Appleton is the top workplace for Kaukauna residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Kaukauna come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
What’s behind Kaukauna’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($80,365, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kaukauna could be anywhere from B to A.
Making and building: 47% of jobs based in Kaukauna
7,487 jobs are based in Kaukauna.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kaukauna, 2013 → 2023: 6,323 → 7,487. 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 Kaukauna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Kaukauna to work: where people go
Where Kaukauna clocks in
17% of workers
7% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Kaukauna
On a workday 8,119 residents head out to work, 1,091 work right here, and 6,396 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 (0.81 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.
About 21 minutes to work from Kaukauna
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kaukauna workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,280 commuters (the 8% 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 distance from Kaukauna to work
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.
For most of Kaukauna, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,120 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). 6.3% of Kaukauna households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Kaukauna’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000, Kaukauna comes 738th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Greenville WI | 13,388 | $118K | 1.7% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Whitefish Bay WI | 14,489 | $157K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Verona WI | 16,821 | $120K | 1.4% | 1.6% | 21% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 736 | Hanahan SC | 22,415 | $88K | 11.7% | 2.5% | 5% | A− |
| 737 | Clinton UT | 23,797 | $116K | 7.0% | 4.9% | 3% | A− |
| 738 | Kaukauna WI | 18,517 | $80K | 7.8% | 3.0% | 12% | A− |
| 739 | Wheatfield NY | 18,555 | $94K | 5.9% | 4.4% | 8% | A− |
| 740 | West Norriton Township PA | 16,290 | $95K | 5.0% | 6.7% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Kaukauna, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work in the towns next to Kaukauna
The biggest share goes to Little Chute (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kaukauna workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaukauna | – | A− | B | 21 min | $80,365 |
| Buchanan | under 3% | B+ | B− | 21 min | $105,478 |
| Vandenbroek | under 3% | A+ | C+ | 16 min | $128,594 |
| Little Chute | 6% | A | B− | 19 min | $87,538 |
| Combined Locks | under 3% | A− | C+ | 18 min | $93,490 |
| Harrison | under 3% | A+ | C | 20 min | $121,504 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kaukauna’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 Kaukauna: questions
What is the median household income in Kaukauna?
$80,365 (±$9,030) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kaukauna?
7.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kaukauna?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kaukauna work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Appleton (17%, 6 mi), Grand Chute (7%, 9 mi), Little Chute (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kaukauna walkable?
Kaukauna is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kaukauna without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kaukauna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kaukauna
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.