Jobs and the daily commute in Northfield
Only 4% work in Northfield; the top destination outside it is Black River Falls (16%, 18 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 28 minutes (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). There are 267 jobs in Northfield for 284 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Northfield apart on work
Time on the road from Northfield: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 257 commuters (the 17% 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.
Who leaves Northfield for work, and who comes in
On a workday 272 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 255 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 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.
Out of Northfield to work: where people go
Where Northfield 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.
Factories, building and farms: 91% of the jobs in Northfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northfield, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 267. 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 Northfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Northfield
About 23% 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.
Next door to Northfield
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | – | — | — | 28 min | $70,250 |
| Hale | under 3% | B | C | 31 min | $92,083 |
| Garfield | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Garden Valley | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Curran | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Sumner | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Pigeon | under 3% | C− | C | 21 min | $69,844 |
Same-state neighbors only. Garfield: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Garden Valley, Curran and Sumner: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northfield’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 Northfield: questions
What is the median household income in Northfield?
$70,250 (±$21,589) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northfield?
7.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northfield?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northfield work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Black River Falls (16%, 18 mi), Eau Claire (7%, 30 mi), Osseo (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Northfield 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 Northfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northfield
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.