Photo: James Steakley · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Middleton top those of 98% of U.S. towns
6.1% of residents live below the poverty line (Wisconsin 10.6%). Middleton grades A+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. 23% 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 commute and the jobs: Middleton in brief
Nearly half of Middleton works in Madison
1,689 working residents, 47%, have their main job in Madison, 7.1 miles away across the town line. That’s 47 times as many as work in Middleton itself. The commute map ↓
Middleton is a place people come home to
There are 733 jobs based in Middleton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Middleton has about 4,000 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Middleton works from home
23% of Middleton workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. Time on the road ↓
Most Middleton residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
Middleton’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Middleton is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #34 of 362 in Wisconsin. Household income is its strongest input ($203,646, 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, Middleton could be anywhere from A to A+.
47% of working residents work in Madison
Where Middleton clocks in
47% of workers
14% 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 a workday changes Middleton
On a workday 3,541 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 705 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Middleton on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.
0.21 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Middleton workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,727 commuters (the 23% 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.
Half of Middleton commutes less than 8 miles
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.
65% of the jobs in Middleton pay over $3,333 a month
733 jobs are based in Middleton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Middleton, 2013 → 2023: 629 → 733. 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 Middleton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Middleton is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Middleton is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #279 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,527 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 6% 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 6.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 0.7% of Middleton households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Middleton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Middleton places 136th of 3,168 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | East Hills NY | 7,328 | $250K | 2.8% | 4.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 135 | Brookline NH | 5,858 | $171K | 0.6% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| 136 | Middleton WI | 6,833 | $204K | 6.1% | 0.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 137 | Woodside CA | 5,181 | $250K | 4.5% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 138 | Manchester MD | 5,426 | $122K | 4.8% | 0.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,168 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Middleton, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Next door is work for 47% of Middleton
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Middleton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleton | – | A+ | C | 20 min | $203,646 |
| Madison | 47% | A− | A+ | 19 min | $78,050 |
| Cross Plains | under 1% | A+ | C | 23 min | $162,000 |
| Springfield | under 1% | A+ | C | 19 min | $135,216 |
| Verona | under 1% | A+ | B | 18 min | $150,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Madison. Darker towns draw more of Middleton’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 Middleton: questions
What is the median household income in Middleton?
$203,646 (±$53,588) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Middleton?
6.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Middleton?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Middleton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (47%, 7 mi), Middleton (14%, 4 mi), Verona (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Middleton walkable?
Middleton is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Middleton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Middleton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Middleton
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.