With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Pine River works elsewhere
Measured by household income, Pine River is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. There are 172 jobs in Pine River for 962 working residents. Pine River grades 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
The short version on getting to work from Pine River
Pine River is a place people come home to
There are 172 jobs based in Pine River, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Pine River has about 1,100 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Pine River and Merrill trade workers both ways
Merrill is the top workplace for Pine River residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Pine River come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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 962 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Pine River gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Pine River is better than 78% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Pine River’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 33% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (4.3%) is left out: Pine River’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, Pine River could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
Who works in Pine River, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 947 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 157 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Pine River on a workday afternoon, 43% 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.
26% of working residents work in Merrill
Where Pine River clocks in
26% of workers
15% 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.
The kinds of work in Pine River
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pine River, 2013 → 2023: 250 → 172. 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 River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Pine River: about 22 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pine River workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 742 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.
The distance from Pine River to work
About 28% 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.
Few in Pine River walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pine River is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Pine River 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 867 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). 1.8% of Pine River households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pine River’s commuters take a bus or train.
818th of 5,656: where Pine River ranks among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 44 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 816 | Van Buren Township IN | 1,969 | $94K | 4.9% | 0.0% | 1% | A− |
| 817 | Ringle WI | 1,763 | $92K | 2.6% | 5.2% | 1% | A− |
| 818 | Pine River WI | 1,845 | $110K | 3.7% | 4.3% | 2% | A− |
| 819 | Anson WI | 2,330 | $83K | 4.5% | 1.3% | 2% | A− |
| 820 | Bakersfield Country Club CA | 1,707 | $102K | 9.4% | 0.8% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Pine River, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work next door: 28% of Pine River’s workers
The biggest share goes to Merrill (26%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pine River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine River | – | A− | D | 22 min | $109,722 |
| Scott | 2% | B | C+ | 27 min | $87,500 |
| Merrill | 26% | C− | B+ | 18 min | $53,148 |
| Schley | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Texas | under 2% | B+ | C− | 21 min | $86,875 |
| Ackley | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Merrill | under 2% | B | C− | 22 min | $81,063 |
Same-state neighbors only. Schley and Ackley: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pine River’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 River: questions
What is the median household income in Pine River?
$109,722 (±$9,191) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pine River?
3.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pine River?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pine River work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Merrill (26%, 8 mi), Wausau (15%, 15 mi), Schofield (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pine River walkable?
Pine River is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pine River 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 River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pine River
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.