Rock Falls has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Rock Falls has 17 jobs; 310 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Rock Falls; the top destination outside it is Merrill (29%, 10 miles). Commuters spend 35 minutes getting to work on average, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Rock Falls stands out on work
Rock Falls is a place people come home to
There are 17 jobs based in Rock Falls, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rock Falls has about 330 people in it, 47% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Rock Falls and Merrill trade workers both ways
Merrill is the top workplace for Rock Falls residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Rock Falls come from (29% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Rock Falls 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. Every town next door averages less (22 to 31 minutes). 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 310 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily flow of workers through Rock Falls
On a workday 310 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in Rock Falls on a workday afternoon, 47% 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.
Out of Rock Falls to work: where people go
Where Rock Falls clocks in
29% of workers
12% of workers
5% 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 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rock Falls workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 311 commuters (the 12% 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.
A place that makes things: 76% of Rock Falls’ jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rock Falls, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 17. 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 Rock Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Rock Falls
About 29% 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.
Next door to Rock Falls
The biggest share goes to Merrill (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rock Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Falls | – | — | — | 35 min | $65,278 |
| Harding | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Birch | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Merrill | 2% | B | C− | 22 min | $81,063 |
| Bradley | 2% | C+ | D | 27 min | $76,193 |
Same-state neighbors only. Harding and Birch: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rock Falls’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 Rock Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Rock Falls?
$65,278 (±$19,779) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rock Falls?
3.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rock Falls?
35 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rock Falls work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Merrill (29%, 10 mi), Wausau (12%, 25 mi), Tomahawk (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rock Falls 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 Rock Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rock Falls
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.