With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Kelly works elsewhere
Working residents average 24 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. 52 jobs are based in Kelly, and 201 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Kelly itself; outside it, Ashland draws the most (34%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Kelly at work: what stands out
One in three of Kelly works in Ashland
69 working residents, 34%, have their main job in Ashland, 10 miles away. That’s 34 times as many as work in Kelly itself. The commute map ↓
Kelly is a place people come home to
There are 52 jobs based in Kelly, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Kelly has about 300 people in it, 33% 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 201 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Kelly: the destinations
Where Kelly clocks in
34% of workers
10% 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.
In and out of Kelly on a workday
On a workday 199 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 50 people come in from elsewhere.
About 300 people are in Kelly on a workday afternoon, 33% 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 kinds of work in Kelly
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kelly, 2013 → 2023: 62 → 52. 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 Kelly’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, about the WI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kelly workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 260 commuters (the 11% 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 commute from Kelly, by distance
About 27% 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.
Work in the towns next to Kelly
The biggest share goes to Eileen (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kelly workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly | – | — | — | 24 min | $78,750 |
| White River | 2% | B | C | 20 min | $87,917 |
| Lincoln | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Mason | 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Eileen | 3% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lincoln: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Mason and Eileen: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kelly’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 Kelly: questions
What is the median household income in Kelly?
$78,750 (±$14,426) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kelly?
6.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kelly?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kelly work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ashland (34%, 10 mi), Washburn (10%, 16 mi), Mellen (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Kelly without a car?
0% 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 Kelly, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kelly
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.