Pine Lake has lower unemployment (1.3%) than 92% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 16 minutes on average, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn Pine Lake B; getting around on foot earns it B. Only 2% work in Pine Lake; the top destination outside it is Rhinelander (34%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Pine Lake in brief
A lot of Pine Lake works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Pine Lake: Rhinelander (34%), Pelican (3%) and Newbold (2%). Next door ↓
Pine Lake is a place people come home to
There are 209 jobs based in Pine Lake, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Pine Lake has about 1,700 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% 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 ↓
Commutes from Pine Lake are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wisconsin 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Pine Lake
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pine Lake is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #266 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment holds Pine Lake’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pine Lake could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Pine Lake
On a workday 1,187 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 184 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Pine Lake on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.17 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.
How many miles Pine Lake commutes
About 38% 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.
Each way, about 16 minutes from Pine Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pine Lake workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,015 commuters (the 13% 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.
Commuting out of Pine Lake: the destinations
Where Pine Lake clocks in
34% 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.
Goods, not services: 39% of the jobs in Pine Lake
209 jobs are based in Pine Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pine Lake, 2013 → 2023: 191 → 209. 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 Pine Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Pine Lake gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pine Lake is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #159 of 362 in Wisconsin. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,161 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). 2.4% of Pine Lake households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pine Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,910th of 4,969: where Pine Lake ranks among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Sun Prairie WI | 2,291 | $127K | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,908 | Unadilla Township MI | 3,284 | $72K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 4% | B |
| 1,909 | Bear Creek Township PA | 2,820 | $88K | 4.3% | 8.8% | 2% | B |
| 1,910 | Pine Lake WI | 2,733 | $84K | 8.4% | 1.3% | 2% | B |
| 1,911 | Mohnton PA | 2,939 | $81K | 9.6% | 5.8% | 2% | B |
| 1,912 | Wesley Township IL | 2,094 | $78K | 9.9% | 8.3% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | 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 Pine Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
41% of Pine Lake works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pine Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Lake | – | B | B | 16 min | $83,611 |
| Rhinelander | 34% | C+ | A | 16 min | $51,421 |
| Newbold | 2% | B+ | C | 21 min | $75,847 |
| Stella | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Pelican | 3% | C+ | B− | 18 min | $62,198 |
| Sugar Camp | 2% | B− | C+ | 27 min | $79,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Stella: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rhinelander. Darker towns draw more of Pine Lake’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 Pine Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Pine Lake?
$83,611 (±$12,966) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pine Lake?
8.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pine Lake?
16 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pine Lake work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rhinelander (34%, 4 mi), Wausau (4%, 52 mi), Pelican (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pine Lake walkable?
Pine Lake is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pine Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pine Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pine Lake
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.