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Jobs & commute in Plum City

Work and commuting in Plum City

Home is the office for 7% of workers; Wisconsin has 13%. About one in ten work in Plum City itself; outside it, Red Wing draws the most (12%, 21 miles). The trip to work takes 35 minutes on average, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

Where Plum City stands out on work

Plum City workers spend longer getting to work

The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓

A lot of Plum City workers cross into Minnesota

24% of Plum City workers work outside Wisconsin, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Red Wing (12%) and Rochester (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓

Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 251 working residents, small shifts move the shares.

★ What stands out · Time on the road

A commute of about 35 minutes in Plum City

A year of commuting
265 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Plum City35 min
Wisconsin22 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
7%

of Plum City workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Plum City gets to work
77%Drive alone
12%Carpool
2%Walk
8%Other

Share of the 216 commuters (the 7% 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 commute map

Where people from Plum City work

Red Wing: 30 residents work here (12%)Rochester: 5 residents work here (2%)PepinPlum CityMaiden RockEllsworth: 21 residents work here (8%)Spring ValleyRiver Falls: 8 residents work here (3%)Menomonie: 7 residents work here (3%)Eau Claire: 12 residents work here (5%)Salem: 8 residents work here (3%)HartlandWatervilleMaiden RockUnion: 6 residents work here (2%)El PasoTrenton: 5 residents work here (2%)Red WingEllsworthEau ClaireRiver FallsSalemMenomoniePlum City
1
Red Wing, MN20.7 mi away
12%30
2
Plum City (in town)right here
8%21
3
Ellsworth15.8 mi away
8%21
4
Eau Claire36.5 mi away
5%12
5
River Falls26.4 mi away
3%8
6
Salem5.6 mi away
3%8
7
Menomonie22.3 mi away
3%7
8
Union0.9 mi away
2%6
9
Rochester, MN45.2 mi away
2%5
10
Trenton16.8 mi away
2%5
Everywhere elseother towns and states
51%128
The top trips

Where Plum City 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.

Day and night

Who leaves Plum City for work, and who comes in

On a workday 230 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 223 people come in from elsewhere.

230live here, work elsewhere
21live and work here
223work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night590
Workday580
590live here− 230head out to work+ 220come in to work= 580on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.97jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.97 per resident).

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.

The jobs

Services make up most of the work in Plum City

244 jobs are based in Plum City.

Jobs based in Plum CityJobs Plum City residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms2%36%
Trade, transport & utilities15%17%
Services: health, schools, offices84%47%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less32%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month36%22%
Over $3,333 a month32%64%

Who does it

29 or younger36%22%
30 to 5440%53%
55 and older24%25%
+59%

Jobs based in Plum City, 2014 → 2024: 153 → 244. 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 2024.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Plum City’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

Plum City’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi55 miRed Wing: 12% · 20.7 miEllsworth: 8% · 15.8 miEau Claire: 5% · 36.5 miRiver Falls: 3% · 26.4 miSalem: 3% · 5.6 miMenomonie: 3% · 22.3 miUnion: 2% · 0.9 miRochester: 2% · 45.2 miTrenton: 2% · 16.8 miRed Wing 12%Ellsworth 8%Eau Claire 5%River Falls 3%Salem 3%Plum City
Plum CityTop destinations (size = commuters)
17%Under 10 mi42 residents
37%10–24 mi93 residents
28%25–50 mi70 residents
18%Over 50 mi46 residents

About 18% 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 2024.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Plum City: questions

What is the median household income in Plum City?

$66,071 (±$13,902) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Plum City?

10.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Plum City?

35 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Plum City work?

8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Red Wing (12%, 21 mi), Ellsworth (8%, 16 mi), Eau Claire (5%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).

Can you get around Plum City without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Plum City, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Plum City

Plum City home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.