How Rockland works: jobs, income and commuting
Home is the office for 6% of workers, where Wisconsin as a whole has 13%. Only 1% stay in Rockland for work; outside it, La Crosse is the main destination (32%, 16 miles). A typical one-way commute from Rockland lasts 33 minutes (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Rockland, in brief
One in three of Rockland works in La Crosse
115 working residents, 32%, have their main job in La Crosse, 16 miles away. That’s 32 times as many as work in Rockland itself. The commute map ↓
Rockland workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 84 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 356 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where people from Rockland work
Where Rockland clocks in
32% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
Time on the road from Rockland: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockland workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 281 commuters (the 6% 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.
In and out of Rockland on a workday
On a workday 351 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 232 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Rockland on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
Rockland works in goods: 92% of its jobs
237 jobs are based in Rockland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockland, 2013 → 2023: 80 → 237. 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 Rockland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Rockland goes to work
About 20% 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.
Around Rockland: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Rockland’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 Rockland: questions
What is the median household income in Rockland?
$78,500 (±$7,428) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockland?
8.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockland?
33 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockland work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are La Crosse (32%, 16 mi), West Salem (10%, 8 mi), Sparta (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rockland without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockland
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.