Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Oak Creek (1.3%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Oak Creek is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Oak Creek grades A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in seven stay in Oak Creek for work; outside it, Milwaukee is the main destination (31%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Oak Creek, in a few figures
A lot of Oak Creek works one town over
37% of working residents work in a town that borders Oak Creek: Milwaukee (31%), Franklin (4%) and Cudahy (2%). Next door ↓
Oak Creek has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Oak Creek went from 15,903 in 2014 to 21,858 in 2024, +37%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Oak Creek
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oak Creek is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #54 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($96,555, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oak Creek could be anywhere from A to A+.
What the 21,858 jobs in Oak Creek are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oak Creek, 2014 → 2024: 15,903 → 21,858. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oak Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Oak Creek: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 15,809 residents head out to work, 2,210 work right here, and 19,648 people come in from elsewhere.
About 42,000 people are in Oak Creek on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Oak Creek’s residents
Where Oak Creek clocks in
31% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
The daily trip from Oak Creek: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oak Creek workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,545 commuters (the 12% 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.
Where in the region Oak Creek works
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Oak Creek, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oak Creek is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns, #143 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% 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 21,012 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 35% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 3.8% of Oak Creek households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Oak Creek’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oak Creek places 71st of 1,113 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 27,000 to 52,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Brookfield WI | 41,448 | $130K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | New Berlin WI | 39,953 | $101K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Ela Township IL | 46,385 | $174K | 2.7% | 4.1% | 10% | A+ |
| 70 | Park Ridge IL | 38,463 | $143K | 2.9% | 4.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 71 | Oak Creek WI | 38,296 | $97K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 72 | Pittsford NY | 30,588 | $146K | 3.7% | 3.1% | 12% | A+ |
| 73 | Melrose MA | 29,597 | $134K | 3.8% | 3.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Menomonee Falls WI | 41,291 | $100K | 5.2% | 1.9% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Oak Creek, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Bordering towns draw 37% of Oak Creek’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oak Creek workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Creek | – | A+ | B | 23 min | $96,555 |
| Milwaukee | 31% | C | A+ | 22 min | $54,234 |
| Caledonia | under 3% | A | C | 26 min | $93,152 |
| South Milwaukee | under 3% | B | A− | 24 min | $73,427 |
| Franklin | 4% | A | B− | 23 min | $106,894 |
| Cudahy | 2% | B+ | A | 23 min | $66,719 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Milwaukee. Darker towns draw more of Oak Creek’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 2024, 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 Oak Creek: questions
What is the median household income in Oak Creek?
$96,555 (±$4,236) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oak Creek?
4.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oak Creek?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oak Creek work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (31%, 13 mi), Wauwatosa (5%, 14 mi), Franklin (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Oak Creek walkable?
Oak Creek is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oak Creek without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oak Creek, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oak Creek
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.