Rusk has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
For 7% of workers, the job is at home (Wisconsin 13%). Employers in Rusk report 23 jobs, against 261 working residents. Only 1% work in Rusk itself; outside it, Rice Lake draws the most (14%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Rusk, in brief
Rusk workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 43 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 330 hours of commuting, 161 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Rusk is a place people come home to
There are 23 jobs based in Rusk, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Rusk has about 330 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 261 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
From Rusk, about 43 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rusk workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 227 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.
Who leaves Rusk for work, and who comes in
On a workday 258 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 20 people come in from elsewhere.
About 330 people are in Rusk on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
Where Rusk goes to work
Where Rusk clocks in
Lines 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 Rusk’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rusk, 2013 → 2023: 7 → 23. 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 Rusk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Rusk’s workers travel
About 25% 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 Rusk: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rusk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusk | – | — | — | 43 min | $76,402 |
| Big Bend | under 2% | — | — | 49 min | — |
| Chetek | under 2% | B+ | B | 23 min | $95,357 |
| Strickland | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Sampson | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Big Bend: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Strickland and Sampson: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rusk’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 Rusk: questions
What is the median household income in Rusk?
$76,402 (±$4,284) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rusk?
0.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rusk?
43 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rusk work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rice Lake (14%, 16 mi), Ladysmith (8%, 22 mi), Eau Claire (5%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Rusk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rusk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rusk
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.