Peru has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Commuters spend 36 minutes getting to work on average; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26. Peru has 33 jobs; 111 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Peru itself; outside it, Eau Claire draws the most (23%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Peru
On a workday 111 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 33 people come in from elsewhere.
About 170 people are in Peru on a workday afternoon, 32% 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 Peru goes to work
Where Peru 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.
Peru makes things: 70% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Peru, 2013 → 2023: 1 → 33. 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 Peru’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Peru: about 36 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Peru workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 128 commuters (the 8% 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.
Miles to work from Peru
About 17% 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.
Work in the towns next to Peru
The biggest share goes to Spring Brook (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Peru workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | – | — | — | 36 min | $70,625 |
| Spring Brook | 4% | B | D | 27 min | $95,563 |
| Dunn | under 1% | C | C | 26 min | $74,732 |
| Rock Creek | under 1% | A− | C− | 28 min | $104,000 |
| Lima | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lima: 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 Peru’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 Peru: questions
What is the median household income in Peru?
$70,625 (±$27,055) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Peru?
6.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Peru?
36 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Peru work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eau Claire (23%, 17 mi), Menomonie (21%, 13 mi), Union (8%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Peru 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 Peru, from the people who make the trip.
More of Peru
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.