Photo: Racine2020 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Racine earn less than those in 77% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 12.9 in Milwaukee. The poverty rate is 18.2% (Wisconsin 10.6%). For jobs and income Racine is better than 32% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: Racine’s grade explained
Job access by car holds Racine’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Racine could be anywhere from C to C+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Racine
On a workday 27,326 residents head out to work, 7,941 work right here, and 16,176 people come in from elsewhere.
About 67,000 people are in Racine on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
10% of working residents work in Mount Pleasant
Where Racine clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
Goods jobs make up 30% of work in Racine
24,117 jobs are based in Racine.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Racine, 2013 → 2023: 30,753 → 24,117. 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 Racine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Racine: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Racine workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 32,757 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.
How many miles Racine commutes
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Racine
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 35,305 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 78% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.7% of Racine households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Racine’s commuters take a bus or train.
Racine is 477th of 565 U.S. towns of 55,000 to 105,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Waukesha WI | 70,872 | $84K | 9.8% | 2.7% | 20% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Appleton WI | 75,452 | $80K | 8.3% | 3.5% | 25% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 316 | West Allis WI | 60,119 | $68K | 11.5% | 4.1% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 475 | San Jacinto CA | 56,014 | $81K | 16.1% | 8.9% | 11% | C |
| 476 | Waterloo IA | 66,919 | $57K | 16.6% | 5.3% | 53% | C |
| 477 | Racine WI | 77,908 | $58K | 18.2% | 6.1% | 23% | C |
| 478 | Lawrence MA | 89,320 | $60K | 17.6% | 8.5% | 22% | C |
| 479 | Hanford CA | 62,229 | $76K | 14.5% | 9.5% | 26% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 565 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Racine, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
13% of Racine works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Mount Pleasant (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Racine workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racine | – | C | A | 23 min | $57,740 |
| Mount Pleasant | 10% | A− | B− | 21 min | $91,616 |
| Caledonia | 3% | A | C | 26 min | $93,152 |
| Elmwood Park | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| North Bay | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Elmwood Park and North Bay: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Racine’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 Racine: questions
What is the median household income in Racine?
$57,740 (±$2,108) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Racine?
18.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Racine?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Racine work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mount Pleasant (10%, 4 mi), Milwaukee (10%, 25 mi), Kenosha (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Racine walkable?
Racine is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Racine without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 78% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Racine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Racine
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.