Most of Salem Lakes commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
About one in ten work in Salem Lakes itself; outside it, Kenosha draws the most (10%, 13 miles). 2,557 jobs are based in Salem Lakes for 7,073 working residents. Salem Lakes grades A− for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Salem Lakes: the figures worth knowing
Salem Lakes workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Salem Lakes empties out on a workday
About 9,800 people are in Salem Lakes on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than the 14,000 who live here: 6,500 head out to work and 2,000 come in. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Salem Lakes’ grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salem Lakes is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #193 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem Lakes could be anywhere from B to A.
From Salem Lakes, about 32 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem Lakes workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,751 commuters (the 13% 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.
Salem Lakes quiets down on a workday
On a workday 6,495 residents head out to work, 578 work right here, and 1,979 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,800 people are in Salem Lakes on a workday afternoon, 32% 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 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Salem Lakes’ residents
Where Salem Lakes clocks in
10% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Salem Lakes
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem Lakes, 2014 → 2024: 1,920 → 2,557. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem Lakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Salem Lakes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Salem Lakes is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem Lakes is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns, #261 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Salem Lakes near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,736 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.9% of Salem Lakes households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Salem Lakes’ commuters take a bus or train.
Salem Lakes places 830th of 2,227 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Greenville WI | 13,388 | $118K | 1.7% | 0.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Whitefish Bay WI | 14,489 | $157K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Verona WI | 16,821 | $120K | 1.4% | 1.6% | 22% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 828 | Essex Junction VT | 10,921 | $89K | 9.5% | 1.9% | 11% | A− |
| 829 | College Township PA | 10,393 | $101K | 7.7% | 2.8% | 34% | A− |
| 830 | Salem Lakes WI | 14,271 | $95K | 6.6% | 4.2% | 8% | A− |
| 831 | Collegedale TN | 11,499 | $70K | 7.3% | 1.6% | 8% | A− |
| 832 | Kaukauna WI | 18,517 | $80K | 7.8% | 3.0% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Salem Lakes, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Salem Lakes and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Paddock Lake (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem Lakes workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Lakes | – | A− | C | 32 min | $94,819 |
| Paddock Lake | 2% | A | C+ | 33 min | $87,800 |
| Bristol | 2% | A | B+ | 26 min | $123,648 |
| Randall | under 2% | A | C− | 27 min | $115,665 |
| Brighton | under 2% | A | C− | 26 min | $91,875 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Salem Lakes’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 2024, 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 Salem Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in Salem Lakes?
$94,819 (±$6,161) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem Lakes?
6.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem Lakes?
32 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem Lakes work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kenosha (10%, 13 mi), Pleasant Prairie (5%, 12 mi), Milwaukee (4%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Salem Lakes walkable?
Salem Lakes is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem Lakes without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salem Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salem Lakes
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.