With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Lincoln works elsewhere
Lincoln has 115 jobs for 362 working residents. Only 2% work in Lincoln; the top destination outside it is Tomah (32%, 9 miles). The average commute takes 18 minutes each way, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lincoln: the figures worth knowing
Lincoln and Tomah trade workers both ways
Tomah is the top workplace for Lincoln residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Lincoln come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 362 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Lincoln: the destinations
Where Lincoln clocks in
32% of workers
4% 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.
How far Lincoln’s workers travel
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who works in Lincoln, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 354 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 107 people come in from elsewhere.
About 560 people are in Lincoln on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
In Lincoln, 73% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2014 → 2024: 97 → 115. 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 18 minutes in Lincoln
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 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 429 commuters (the 8% 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 Lincoln compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lincoln workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | – | — | — | 18 min | $103,333 |
| Grant | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Scott | under 2% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| La Grange | 2% | B | C− | 16 min | $98,958 |
| Knapp | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Grant and Scott: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Knapp: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to La Grange. 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?
$103,333 (±$14,206) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
1.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tomah (32%, 9 mi), Byron (5%, 9 mi), La Crosse (4%, 41 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.