Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Oconto (0.5%) is lower than in 97% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Oconto is better than 51% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (C+). About one in four work in Oconto; the top destination outside it is Green Bay (11%, 26 miles). 6% of workers have no commute at all, against 13% across Wisconsin.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Oconto and work: the main findings
Oconto trades workers with the towns around it
Oconto has about as many jobs (2,055) as working residents (2,138), but they are mostly different people: 1,591 residents leave for work each day while 1,508 people come in. Only 27% of the jobs in Oconto are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Oconto makes and builds things
42% of the jobs based in Oconto are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Oconto residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 34%. The jobs ↓
Oconto’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Oconto is Green Bay, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (242) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Oconto
Unemployment holds Oconto’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($61,506, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oconto could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Who works in Oconto, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,591 residents head out to work, 547 work right here, and 1,508 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 (0.96 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.
Goods, not services: 42% of the jobs in Oconto
2,055 jobs are based in Oconto.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oconto, 2013 → 2023: 2,006 → 2,055. 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 Oconto’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Oconto
About 26% 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.
Where Oconto goes to work
Where Oconto clocks in
11% of workers
6% 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 long Oconto spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oconto workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,289 commuters (the 6% 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.
Driving is how Oconto gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,443 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). 3.7% of Oconto households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oconto’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Oconto ranks: 2,074th of 4,009 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,072 | Belleville MI | 3,851 | $63K | 5.5% | 9.7% | 3% | B− |
| 2,073 | Woodlawn OH | 3,928 | $75K | 15.9% | 4.8% | 5% | B− |
| 2,074 | Oconto WI | 4,640 | $62K | 12.3% | 0.5% | 26% | B− |
| 2,075 | Williamsburg Township OH | 5,900 | $66K | 9.6% | 3.3% | 6% | B− |
| 2,076 | Saratoga WI | 5,141 | $74K | 5.9% | 3.6% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,009 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Oconto, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Oconto and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oconto workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oconto | – | B− | C+ | 24 min | $61,506 |
| Little River | under 2% | A− | B | 25 min | $92,292 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oconto’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 Oconto: questions
What is the median household income in Oconto?
$61,506 (±$10,996) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oconto?
12.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oconto?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oconto work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Green Bay (11%, 26 mi), Marinette (6%, 18 mi), Ashwaubenon (4%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oconto walkable?
Oconto is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oconto without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oconto, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oconto
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.