Lima has lower unemployment (0.9%) than 95% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Lima is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Lima A; getting around on foot earns it C. Only 4% work in Lima; the top destination outside it is Sheboygan (22%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lima apart
Lima and Sheboygan trade workers both ways
Sheboygan is the top workplace for Lima residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Lima come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Lima are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wisconsin worker. Time on the road ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Lima are held by workers 29 or younger, against 23% of Lima’s own working residents. 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.
The figures behind Lima’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lima is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #99 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns). 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, Lima could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Out of Lima to work: where people go
Where Lima clocks in
22% 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.
A commute of about 17 minutes in Lima
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lima workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,560 commuters (the 12% 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.
What Lima’s employers do
699 jobs are based in Lima.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lima, 2013 → 2023: 579 → 699. 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 Lima’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Lima on a workday
On a workday 1,338 residents head out to work, 57 work right here, and 642 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Lima on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.50 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Miles to work from Lima
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.
Most trips from Lima start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lima is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #247 of 362 in Wisconsin. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,773 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). 0.9% of Lima households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lima’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Lima is 366th of 4,882 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Center WI | 3,706 | $115K | 1.6% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 364 | Clifton WI | 2,289 | $123K | 4.3% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| 365 | Lake Lotawana MO | 2,756 | $166K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 2% | A |
| 366 | Lima WI | 2,920 | $106K | 5.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A |
| 367 | Union WI | 2,099 | $99K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| 368 | Koshkonong WI | 3,776 | $103K | 4.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Lima, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work next door: 21% of Lima’s workers
The biggest share goes to Sheboygan Falls (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lima workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima | – | A | C | 17 min | $106,065 |
| Sheboygan Falls | 8% | B | B+ | 14 min | $71,477 |
| Lyndon | under 2% | A− | C | 24 min | $93,000 |
| Wilson | 3% | A | D | 17 min | $104,632 |
| Sheboygan Falls | 5% | C+ | C+ | 16 min | $71,250 |
| Holland | under 2% | A− | C+ | 25 min | $92,250 |
| Oostburg | 5% | A− | A | 24 min | $87,857 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lima’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 Lima: questions
What is the median household income in Lima?
$106,065 (±$7,612) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lima?
5.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lima?
17 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lima work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sheboygan (22%, 8 mi), Sheboygan Falls (8%, 5 mi), Kohler (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lima walkable?
Lima is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lima without a car?
0% 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 Lima, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lima
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.