Photo: James Steakley · CC BY-SA 3.0Oregon’s household incomes are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 1% work in Oregon; the top destination outside it is Madison (39%, 13 miles). Below the poverty line: 2.1% of residents, where Wisconsin as a whole has 10.6%. The two grades for Oregon are A+ for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Oregon stands out on work
39% of Oregon works in Madison
595 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Madison, 13 miles away. That’s 39 times as many as work in Oregon itself. The commute map ↓
Oregon is a place people come home to
There are 284 jobs based in Oregon, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Oregon has about 1,700 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Oregon workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Oregon’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oregon is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #30 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oregon could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Commuting out of Oregon: the destinations
Where Oregon clocks in
39% of workers
8% 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.
A workday in Oregon: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,522 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 264 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Oregon on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.
0.18 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Oregon
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oregon workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,277 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.
Goods, not services: 35% of the jobs in Oregon
284 jobs are based in Oregon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oregon, 2013 → 2023: 215 → 284. 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 Oregon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Oregon to work
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.
Oregon is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oregon is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns, #357 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Oregon near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,547 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.0% of Oregon households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oregon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oregon places 124th of 4,618 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Georgetown IN | 3,855 | $113K | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 123 | Gates Mills OH | 2,236 | $231K | 6.1% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 124 | Oregon WI | 2,994 | $151K | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 125 | Pennington NJ | 2,889 | $193K | 4.8% | 2.4% | 8% | A+ |
| 126 | Franklin Township NJ | 3,288 | $161K | 1.5% | 2.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Oregon, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns around Oregon
The biggest share goes to Rutland (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Oregon’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 Oregon: questions
What is the median household income in Oregon?
$150,536 (±$28,268) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oregon?
2.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oregon?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oregon work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (39%, 13 mi), Oregon (8%, 2 mi), Fitchburg (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oregon walkable?
Oregon is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oregon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oregon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oregon
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.