Photo: Doremo · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Porterfield works elsewhere
Employers in Porterfield report 61 jobs for 949 working residents. Porterfield grades B− for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Only 2% work in Porterfield; the top destination outside it is Marinette (38%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Porterfield: the gist
Porterfield is a place people come home to
There are 61 jobs based in Porterfield, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Porterfield has about 1,000 people in it, 46% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
38% of Porterfield works in Marinette
356 working residents, 38%, have their main job in Marinette, 8.9 miles away across the town line. That’s 19 times as many as work in Porterfield itself. 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 949 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Porterfield’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Porterfield is better than 50% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Porterfield’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.3%) is left out: Porterfield’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, Porterfield could be anywhere from C+ to B.
The daily flow of workers through Porterfield
On a workday 930 residents head out to work, 19 work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Porterfield on a workday afternoon, 46% 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.
Commuting out of Porterfield: the destinations
Where Porterfield clocks in
38% of workers
8% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Porterfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Porterfield, 2013 → 2023: 86 → 61. 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 Porterfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Porterfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Porterfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 744 commuters (the 17% 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.
Half of Porterfield commutes less than 11 miles
About 27% 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.
In Porterfield, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Porterfield is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Porterfield 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 893 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). 1.1% of Porterfield households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Porterfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600, Porterfield ranks 2,297th of 5,921 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 46 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,295 | Swan Creek Township MI | 2,409 | $73K | 7.0% | 4.4% | 3% | B− |
| 2,296 | Clymer NY | 1,807 | $88K | 6.1% | 0.0% | 15% | B− |
| 2,297 | Porterfield WI | 1,927 | $75K | 2.7% | 3.3% | 2% | B− |
| 2,298 | Ladd IL | 1,384 | $67K | 6.4% | 2.5% | 2% | B− |
| 2,299 | Bloom Township OH | 2,517 | $74K | 12.6% | 3.2% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | 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 Porterfield, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Bordering towns draw 40% of Porterfield’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Porterfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porterfield | – | B− | D− | 24 min | $74,500 |
| Lake | under 2% | C | C+ | 28 min | $77,857 |
| Wagner | 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Marinette | 38% | C | A− | 13 min | $58,638 |
| Grover | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 19 min | $71,767 |
| Peshtigo | under 2% | B+ | C− | 17 min | $81,378 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wagner: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Marinette. Darker towns draw more of Porterfield’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 Porterfield: questions
What is the median household income in Porterfield?
$74,500 (±$14,528) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Porterfield?
2.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Porterfield?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Porterfield work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marinette (38%, 9 mi), Menominee (8%, 8 mi), Peshtigo (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Porterfield walkable?
Porterfield is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Porterfield 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 Porterfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Porterfield
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.