Oakland has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The two grades for Oakland are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 63 jobs are based in Oakland, against 363 working residents. A typical one-way commute lasts 23 minutes, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Oakland apart on work
Oakland is a place people come home to
There are 63 jobs based in Oakland, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Oakland has about 720 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. 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; with 363 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Oakland’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Oakland is better than 21% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Oakland’s grade up (9.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Oakland’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Oakland could be anywhere from D to C+.
How many people are in Oakland by day
On a workday 357 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 57 people come in from elsewhere.
About 720 people are in Oakland on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where in the region Oakland works
About 31% 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.
11% of working residents work in Webster
Where Oakland clocks in
9% 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.
In Oakland, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakland, 2013 → 2023: 64 → 63. 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 Oakland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Oakland’s commute takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakland workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 329 commuters (the 14% 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.
In Oakland, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oakland is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 6.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 382 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.7% of Oakland households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oakland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400, Oakland comes 2,097th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Kaukauna WI | 1,295 | $122K | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,095 | Fletcher OK | 1,274 | $71K | 19.7% | 4.6% | 3% | C− |
| 2,096 | Elbridge Township MI | 1,009 | $81K | 14.9% | 5.3% | 1% | C− |
| 2,097 | Oakland WI | 1,024 | $63K | 9.2% | 3.2% | 2% | C− |
| 2,098 | Blades DE | 1,372 | $57K | 13.0% | 11.9% | 1% | C− |
| 2,099 | Daisetta TX | 1,194 | $66K | 14.5% | 4.7% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Oakland, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
11% of Oakland works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Meenon (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | – | C− | B+ | 23 min | $62,857 |
| Meenon | 6% | D | D | 18 min | $62,721 |
| Union | under 3% | — | — | 51 min | — |
| Jackson | under 3% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Swiss | 5% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Sand Lake | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Union, Swiss and Sand Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Jackson: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oakland’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 Oakland: questions
What is the median household income in Oakland?
$62,857 (±$12,320) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakland?
9.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakland?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakland work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Webster (11%, 4 mi), Siren (9%, 11 mi), Meenon (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oakland walkable?
Oakland is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakland
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.