Ruby has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working residents average 27 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). Only 1% work in Ruby; the top destination outside it is Stanley (17%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ruby quiets down on a workday
On a workday 186 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 87 people come in from elsewhere.
About 380 people are in Ruby on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.47 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.
17% of working residents work in Stanley
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Ruby clocks in
10% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Ruby makes things: 91% of its jobs are in goods
88 jobs are based in Ruby. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ruby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ruby, 2013 → 2023: 29 → 88. 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.
About 27 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ruby workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 171 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.
Half of Ruby commutes less than 29 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
Ruby and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Ruby’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ruby workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | – | — | — | 27 min | $73,750 |
| Pershing | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Lake Holcombe | under 3% | D | C− | 26 min | $62,772 |
| Colburn | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Marshall | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Estella | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pershing and Estella: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Colburn: not graded. Marshall: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Ruby: questions
What is the median household income in Ruby?
$73,750 (±$6,578) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ruby?
7.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ruby?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ruby work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stanley (17%, 18 mi), Eau Claire (11%, 36 mi), Chippewa Falls (10%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ruby without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ruby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ruby
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.