Gilley-tofsland Octagonal Barn · Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC0Porter has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Porter has 158 jobs, against 399 working residents. Only 1% work in Porter; the top destination outside it is Janesville (18%, 12 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 27 minutes; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Porter, in a few figures
Porter and Janesville trade workers both ways
Janesville is the top workplace for Porter residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Porter come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Porter workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 38 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; with 399 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Porter goes to work
Where Porter clocks in
18% of workers
10% 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.
About 27 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Porter workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 490 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.
Who works in Porter, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 395 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 154 people come in from elsewhere.
About 750 people are in Porter on a workday afternoon, 24% 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.
Porter makes things: 46% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Porter, 2013 → 2023: 123 → 158. 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 Porter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Porter
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Porter and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Fulton (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Porter’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 Porter: questions
What is the median household income in Porter?
$95,833 (±$38,295) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Porter?
5.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Porter?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Porter work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Janesville (18%, 12 mi), Madison (10%, 23 mi), Evansville (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Porter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Porter, from the people who make the trip.
More of Porter
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.