Ridgeway has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Employers in Ridgeway report 78 jobs, and 358 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Ridgeway for work; outside it, Madison is the main destination (27%, 29 miles). Commuters spend 27 minutes getting to work on average; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ridgeway at work: what stands out
Ridgeway’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ridgeway is Madison, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 27% of working residents (95) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Ridgeway is a place people come home to
There are 78 jobs based in Ridgeway, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Ridgeway has about 370 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Ridgeway 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 358 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The commute from Ridgeway, by distance
About 15% 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.
Ridgeway quiets down on a workday
On a workday 355 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 75 people come in from elsewhere.
About 370 people are in Ridgeway 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.
Ridgeway’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ridgeway workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 314 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where people from Ridgeway work
Where Ridgeway clocks in
27% of workers
9% 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.
What Ridgeway’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ridgeway, 2013 → 2023: 103 → 78. 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 Ridgeway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Ridgeway: questions
What is the median household income in Ridgeway?
$88,125 (±$16,652) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ridgeway?
16.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ridgeway?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ridgeway work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (27%, 29 mi), Dodgeville (9%, 7 mi), Barneveld (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ridgeway without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ridgeway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ridgeway
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.