Photo: college.library · CC BY 2.0Families in Madison earn more than those in 76% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Madison A−; getting around on foot earns it A+. More than half stay in Madison for work; outside it, Verona is the main destination (6%, 9 miles). 20% of workers have no commute at all, next to 13% for Wisconsin as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Madison apart
Madison is where the jobs are
Madison has 212,092 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A lot of Madison works from home
21% of Madison workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. Time on the road ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Madison’s grade explained
On family income, poverty and job access, Madison is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #170 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.7%, U.S. 11.9%). It also does well on family income and the poverty rate.
18% of Madison’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (15% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 9.7%, against 16.4% for all residents. Unemployment (2.7%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($116,964), since student households pull the household median down ($78,050).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, Madison could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
How a workday changes Madison
On a workday 51,638 residents head out to work, 73,593 work right here, and 138,499 people come in from elsewhere.
About 373,000 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.7 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.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 126,901 commuters (the 21% 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 towns that send workers to Madison
Where Madison clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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.
Most jobs in Madison are in services
212,092 jobs are based in Madison.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 186,916 → 212,092. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Madison goes 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.
Madison is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Madison is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #2 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Madison near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 159,698 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 64% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 25.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.2% of Madison households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Madison’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Out of 86 U.S. towns of 200,000 to 386,000, Madison comes 15th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Scottsdale AZ | 243,006 | $111K | 7.3% | 3.6% | 28% | A |
| 14 | Chandler AZ | 278,748 | $108K | 7.9% | 3.6% | 23% | A− |
| 15 | Madison WI | 286,233 | $78K | 16.4% | 2.7% | 59% | A− |
| 16 | Santa Clarita CA | 228,430 | $123K | 7.4% | 5.6% | 21% | A− |
| 17 | Peoria AZ | 200,881 | $96K | 8.4% | 4.0% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Cleveland OH | 363,608 | $41K | 30.6% | 10.8% | 42% | C− |
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 Madison, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns around Madison
The biggest share goes to Middleton (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Madison workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | – | A− | A+ | 19 min | $78,050 |
| Burke | under 1% | B+ | A | 19 min | $104,025 |
| Blooming Grove | under 1% | A− | A+ | 21 min | $90,000 |
| Westport | under 1% | A | C | 22 min | $83,750 |
| Monona | 1% | A− | A | 20 min | $87,773 |
| Fitchburg | 3% | A− | A | 19 min | $86,516 |
| Middleton | 5% | A− | A | 19 min | $89,524 |
| Verona | under 1% | A+ | B | 18 min | $150,000 |
| Middleton | under 1% | A+ | C | 20 min | $203,646 |
| Cottage Grove | under 1% | B+ | C− | 26 min | $87,218 |
| McFarland | under 1% | A | B | 19 min | $97,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Madison’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.
- Students. 18% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$78,050 (±$2,037) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
16.4% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 9.7%. Wisconsin: 10.6%.
How long is the commute from Madison?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
59% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Verona (6%, 9 mi), Middleton (5%, 4 mi), Fitchburg (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madison walkable?
Madison is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Madison without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 64% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.