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Merrimac FerryMerrimac Ferry · Photo: User:Freekee · Public domain
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Merrimac

With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Merrimac works elsewhere

Merrimac has 42 jobs; 264 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Merrimac itself; outside it, Madison draws the most (20%, 22 miles). 7% of workers have no commute at all, where Wisconsin as a whole has 13%.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

The work figures that set Merrimac apart

Merrimac is a place people come home to

There are 42 jobs based in Merrimac, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Merrimac has about 300 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓

Merrimac’s biggest commute is a long one

The top workplace outside Merrimac is Madison, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (54) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓

Merrimac workers spend longer getting to work

The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 264 working residents, small shifts move the shares.

★ What stands out · Day and night

How many people are in Merrimac by day

On a workday 264 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.

264live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
42work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night520
Workday300
520live here− 260head out to work+ 42come in to work= 300on a workday

About 300 people are in Merrimac on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.16jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Near or far: the trip to work from Merrimac

10 mi25 mi50 mi65 miMadison: 20% · 22.2 miSauk City: 10% · 8.8 miPrairie du Sac: 8% · 7.8 miBaraboo: 7% · 8.5 miMerrimac: 4% · 2.4 miLake Delton: 3% · 16.9 miMiddleton: 3% · 19.5 miPortage: 3% · 14.4 miWaunakee: 2% · 16.4 miJanesville: 2% · 56.9 miMadison 20%Sauk City 10%Prairie du Sac 8%Baraboo 7%Merrimac 4%Merrimac
MerrimacTop destinations (size = commuters)
32%Under 10 mi85 residents
43%10–24 mi114 residents
12%25–50 mi32 residents
13%Over 50 mi33 residents

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.

Time on the road

How long Merrimac spends getting to work: about 31 minutes

A year of commuting
235 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Merrimac31 min
Wisconsin22 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
7%

of Merrimac workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Merrimac gets to work
87%Drive alone
9%Carpool
1%Walk
3%Other

Share of the 267 commuters (the 7% 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 commute map

The places Merrimac commutes to

MerrimacSauk City: 26 residents work here (10%)Prairie du Sac: 21 residents work here (8%)Waunakee: 6 residents work here (2%)Baraboo: 19 residents work here (7%)Lake Delton: 9 residents work here (3%)Portage: 7 residents work here (3%)Middleton: 8 residents work here (3%)Janesville: 6 residents work here (2%)Madison: 54 residents work here (20%)West PointRoxburySumpterCaledoniaMerrimac: 10 residents work here (4%)Prairie du SacBarabooGreenfieldLake WisconsinMadisonSauk CityPrairie du SacBarabooMerrimacLake DeltonMerrimac
1
Madison22.2 mi away
20%54
2
Sauk City8.8 mi away
10%26
3
Prairie du Sac7.8 mi away
8%21
4
Baraboo8.5 mi away
7%19
5
Merrimac2.4 mi away
4%10
6
Lake Delton16.9 mi away
3%9
7
Middleton19.5 mi away
3%8
8
Portage14.4 mi away
3%7
9
Waunakee16.4 mi away
2%6
10
Janesville56.9 mi away
2%6
Everywhere elseother towns and states
37%98
The top trips

Where Merrimac clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

What Merrimac’s employers do

Jobs based in MerrimacJobs Merrimac residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%25%
Trade, transport & utilities26%14%
Services: health, schools, offices74%61%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less29%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month24%19%
Over $3,333 a month48%64%

Who does it

29 or younger12%24%
30 to 5440%51%
55 and older48%25%
−11%

Jobs based in Merrimac, 2013 → 2023: 47 → 42. 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 Merrimac’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Next door

The towns around Merrimac

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

West Point29 min
Merrimac31 min
Lake Wisconsin32 min

Jobs & commute next door

TownMerrimac workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Merrimac–——31 min$92,417
Lake Wisconsinunder 3%——32 min—
West Pointunder 3%A+B−29 min$139,632

Same-state neighbors only. Lake Wisconsin: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Merrimac’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Merrimac: questions

What is the median household income in Merrimac?

$92,417 (±$22,739) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Merrimac?

6.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Merrimac?

31 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Merrimac work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (20%, 22 mi), Sauk City (10%, 9 mi), Prairie du Sac (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Merrimac without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Merrimac, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Merrimac

Merrimac home →

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.