Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in New Berlin (2.2%) is lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, New Berlin is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income New Berlin is better than 96% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (C). About one in ten stay in New Berlin for work; outside it, Milwaukee is the main destination (22%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set New Berlin apart
The four measures behind New Berlin’s grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($101,091, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Berlin could be anywhere from A to A+.
The towns that employ New Berlin’s residents
Where New Berlin clocks in
22% of workers
7% 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.
Who leaves New Berlin for work, and who comes in
On a workday 18,205 residents head out to work, 1,975 work right here, and 23,630 people come in from elsewhere.
About 45,000 people are in New Berlin on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
33% of the jobs in New Berlin make or build things
25,605 jobs are based in New Berlin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Berlin, 2013 → 2023: 22,830 → 25,605. 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 New Berlin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 22 minutes in New Berlin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Berlin workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,183 commuters (the 15% 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 it is to work from New Berlin
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.
Getting around New Berlin: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% of 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 20,225 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 2% 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 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 2.3% of New Berlin households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of New Berlin’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, New Berlin is 53rd of 1,086 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 54,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Brookfield WI | 41,448 | $130K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Ilchester MD | 28,364 | $152K | 5.1% | 3.0% | 3% | A+ |
| 52 | Melissa TX | 29,969 | $139K | 1.9% | 3.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 53 | New Berlin WI | 39,953 | $101K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 54 | Liberty Township OH | 45,723 | $148K | 3.8% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 55 | Chesterfield MO | 49,309 | $133K | 3.9% | 3.2% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Oak Creek WI | 38,296 | $97K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Menomonee Falls WI | 41,291 | $100K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 New Berlin, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Next door is work for 14% of New Berlin
The biggest share goes to Brookfield (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Berlin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Berlin | – | A+ | C | 22 min | $101,091 |
| Muskego | under 2% | A+ | B− | 23 min | $112,221 |
| Brookfield | 7% | A+ | B | 21 min | $129,548 |
| Waukesha | under 2% | A+ | C− | 26 min | $130,978 |
| Vernon | under 2% | A+ | C− | 30 min | $120,000 |
| West Allis | 5% | B | A | 21 min | $67,611 |
| Hales Corners | under 2% | A | A− | 23 min | $87,740 |
| Brookfield | under 2% | A− | B | 20 min | $89,323 |
| Greenfield | 2% | A− | B+ | 22 min | $70,459 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New Berlin’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 New Berlin: questions
What is the median household income in New Berlin?
$101,091 (±$4,499) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Berlin?
4.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Berlin?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Berlin work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (22%, 10 mi), Wauwatosa (7%, 8 mi), Brookfield (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Berlin walkable?
New Berlin is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Berlin without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Berlin, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Berlin
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.