For about half of its working residents, Manitowoc is a commute to Manitowoc
The trip to work takes 20 minutes on average, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S. Manitowoc grades B for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 1% stay in Manitowoc for work; outside it, Manitowoc is the main destination (46%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Manitowoc
The figures behind Manitowoc’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Manitowoc is better than 60% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Manitowoc’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (3.4%) is left out: Manitowoc’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Manitowoc could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Where the trip to work from Manitowoc ends
Where Manitowoc clocks in
4% 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.
In and out of Manitowoc on a workday
On a workday 488 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 198 people come in from elsewhere.
About 780 people are in Manitowoc on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
In Manitowoc, 74% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
205 jobs are based in Manitowoc.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manitowoc, 2013 → 2023: 120 → 205. 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 Manitowoc’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Manitowoc: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manitowoc workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 521 commuters (the 13% 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 far Manitowoc’s workers travel
About 16% 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.
Few in Manitowoc walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Manitowoc is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Manitowoc 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 602 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). 0.6% of Manitowoc households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Manitowoc’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Manitowoc ranks: 748th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Kaukauna WI | 1,295 | $122K | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 746 | Linton Township IN | 1,254 | $99K | 8.0% | 6.1% | 8% | B |
| 747 | Upper Mifflin Township PA | 1,381 | $83K | 8.1% | 2.4% | 2% | B |
| 748 | Manitowoc WI | 1,074 | $82K | 9.4% | 3.4% | 1% | B |
| 749 | Black Diamond FL | 1,298 | $96K | 6.7% | 12.1% | 1% | B |
| 750 | Rocksbury Township MN | 1,050 | $113K | 7.5% | 2.5% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Manitowoc, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work in the towns next to Manitowoc
The biggest share goes to Two Rivers (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Manitowoc workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitowoc | – | B | D | 20 min | $81,734 |
| Two Rivers | 4% | B− | B+ | 21 min | $57,222 |
| Newton | 3% | A | C+ | 19 min | $84,837 |
| Two Rivers | under 2% | B | D | 24 min | $77,056 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Manitowoc’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 Manitowoc: questions
What is the median household income in Manitowoc?
$81,734 (±$15,485) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manitowoc?
9.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manitowoc?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manitowoc work?
1% work in town.
Is Manitowoc walkable?
Manitowoc is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manitowoc
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.