Lima has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Lima report 75 jobs for 333 working residents. Only 1% work in Lima; the top destination outside it is Platteville (15%, 6 miles). At 22 minutes each way, commutes from Lima run about the Wisconsin average.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Lima
Lima and Platteville trade workers both ways
Platteville is the top workplace for Lima residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Lima come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Lima is a place people come home to
There are 75 jobs based in Lima, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lima has about 520 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 333 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where the trip to work from Lima ends
Where Lima clocks in
15% of workers
14% 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.
Lima on a workday afternoon
On a workday 329 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 71 people come in from elsewhere.
About 520 people are in Lima 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Lima
About 30% 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.
47% of the jobs in Lima make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lima, 2013 → 2023: 75 → 75. 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.
How long Lima spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 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 404 commuters (the 19% 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.
Lima and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Ellenboro (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lima workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima | – | — | — | 22 min | $66,759 |
| Ellenboro | 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Clifton | 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Platteville | 2% | B | B | 19 min | $82,321 |
| Mifflin | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Belmont | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ellenboro and Mifflin: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Clifton and Belmont: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. 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?
$66,759 (±$6,533) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lima?
15.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lima?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lima work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Platteville (15%, 6 mi), Lancaster (14%, 11 mi), Dodgeville (6%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lima without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 19% 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.