Photo: Asher Heimermann · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Kohler top those of 93% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Kohler A; getting around on foot earns it C. Below the poverty line: 2.4% of residents (Wisconsin 10.6%). About one in seven stay in Kohler for work; outside it, Sheboygan is the main destination (32%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Kohler: the gist
Kohler fills up on a workday
Kohler has 5,908 jobs, 5.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 7,200 people are in town, 3 times the 2,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
Kohler makes and builds things
90% of the jobs based in Kohler are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Kohler residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 35%. The jobs ↓
Much of Kohler works one town over
45% of working residents work in a town that borders Kohler: Sheboygan (32%), Sheboygan (6%) and Sheboygan Falls (5%). Next door ↓
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 997 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Kohler: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kohler is better than 89% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kohler could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How many people are in Kohler by day
On a workday 870 residents head out to work, 127 work right here, and 5,781 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,200 people are in Kohler on a workday afternoon, 216% more than live here.
5.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Kohler makes things: 90% of its jobs are in goods
5,908 jobs are based in Kohler.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kohler, 2013 → 2023: 7,112 → 5,908. 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 Kohler’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Kohler’s workforce comes from
Where Kohler clocks in
32% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
About 15 minutes each way for Kohler’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kohler workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 858 commuters (the 20% 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 Kohler 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.
Kohler is a driving town
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 4.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,079 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). 0.4% of Kohler households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Kohler’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100, Kohler ranks 400th of 5,328 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 35 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Vandenbroek WI | 1,701 | $129K | 1.6% | 5.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 398 | Cedar Grove WI | 2,083 | $84K | 3.5% | 1.4% | 11% | A |
| 399 | Pleasant Valley MO | 2,747 | $76K | 4.5% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| 400 | Kohler WI | 2,272 | $136K | 2.4% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| 401 | Washington Township OH | 3,083 | $71K | 4.1% | 0.3% | 2% | A |
| 402 | Westover AL | 2,121 | $97K | 4.1% | 0.6% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Kohler, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
45% of Kohler works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kohler workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kohler | – | A | C | 15 min | $135,833 |
| Sheboygan | 6% | A | B | 16 min | $95,970 |
| Wilson | 2% | A | D | 17 min | $104,632 |
| Sheboygan Falls | 5% | B | B+ | 14 min | $71,477 |
| Sheboygan | 32% | B− | A− | 17 min | $62,927 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sheboygan. Darker towns draw more of Kohler’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 Kohler: questions
What is the median household income in Kohler?
$135,833 (±$14,620) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kohler?
2.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kohler?
15 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kohler work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sheboygan (32%, 2 mi), Sheboygan (6%, 3 mi), Sheboygan Falls (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kohler walkable?
Kohler is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kohler without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kohler, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kohler
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.