Households in Merton have higher incomes than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Merton A+; getting around on foot earns it C. The poverty rate is 6.6% (Wisconsin 10.6%). Home is the office for 22% of workers, against 13% across Wisconsin.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Merton
Merton is a place people come home to
There are 383 jobs based in Merton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Merton has about 2,500 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Merton
22% of Merton 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.
How Merton earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Merton is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #42 of 362 in Wisconsin. Household income is its strongest input ($173,913, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Merton could be anywhere from A to A+.
A workday in Merton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,541 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 352 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Merton on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.24 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.
How long Merton spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,510 commuters (the 22% 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.
11% of working residents work in Milwaukee
Where Merton clocks in
11% of workers
8% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
383 jobs are based in Merton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merton, 2013 → 2023: 310 → 383. 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 Merton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Merton works
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.
Most of Merton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Merton is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #276 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Merton 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 1,946 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 2.9% of Merton households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Merton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Merton next to U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000: 163rd of 4,318 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 161 | Springfield WI | 2,800 | $135K | 4.1% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 162 | Beecher IL | 4,740 | $103K | 2.7% | 1.3% | 11% | A+ |
| 163 | Merton WI | 3,676 | $174K | 6.6% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 164 | Princeton MA | 3,618 | $159K | 4.2% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| 165 | Lima Township MI | 4,215 | $119K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Merton, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Merton and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Merton’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 Merton: questions
What is the median household income in Merton?
$173,913 (±$4,475) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Merton?
6.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (11%, 18 mi), Brookfield (8%, 11 mi), Waukesha (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Merton walkable?
Merton is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Merton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Merton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merton
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.