Most of Lincoln commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
At home: 30% of workers have no commute at all (Wisconsin 13%). Lincoln has 17 jobs for 96 working residents. Only 1% work in Lincoln; the top destination outside it is Winona (19%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Lincoln, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 95 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 16 people come in from elsewhere.
About 89 people are in Lincoln on a workday afternoon, 47% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Lincoln’s working residents head each day
Where Lincoln clocks in
19% of workers
7% 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 place that makes things: 29% of Lincoln’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2014 → 2024: 14 → 17. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 31 minutes in Lincoln
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lincoln workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 57 commuters (the 30% 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.
How many miles Lincoln commutes
About 25% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Lincoln and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lincoln workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | – | — | — | 31 min | $85,000 |
| Montana | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Alma | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Waumandee | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Belvidere | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Gilmanton | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Montana, Waumandee, Belvidere and Gilmanton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Alma: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lincoln’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 2024, 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 Lincoln: questions
What is the median household income in Lincoln?
$85,000 (±$79,360) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
5.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
31 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Winona (19%, 21 mi), Cochrane (9%, 10 mi), Fountain City (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Lincoln 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 Lincoln, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lincoln
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.