With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Saratoga works elsewhere
There are 440 jobs in Saratoga; 2,191 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Saratoga are B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 6% work in Saratoga itself; outside it, Wisconsin Rapids draws the most (23%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Saratoga apart
Saratoga and Wisconsin Rapids trade workers both ways
Wisconsin Rapids is the top workplace for Saratoga residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Saratoga come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Saratoga workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Saratoga is a place people come home to
There are 440 jobs based in Saratoga, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Saratoga has about 3,400 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Many jobs in Saratoga pay little
29% of the jobs based in Saratoga pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Saratoga
57% of Saratoga residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Saratoga pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Saratoga
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Saratoga is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #287 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate holds Saratoga’s grade up (5.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 20% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Saratoga could be anywhere from C to B+.
The places Saratoga commutes to
Where Saratoga 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.
Each way, about 31 minutes from Saratoga
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saratoga workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,954 commuters (the 9% 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 workday in Saratoga: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,069 residents head out to work, 122 work right here, and 318 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Saratoga on a workday afternoon, 34% 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.
Making and building: 35% of jobs based in Saratoga
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saratoga, 2014 → 2024: 385 → 440. 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 Saratoga’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Saratoga’s workers travel
About 28% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Saratoga gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saratoga is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns, #356 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Saratoga 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 2,153 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.2% of Saratoga households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Saratoga’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900, Saratoga comes 1,920th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,918 | Oconto WI | 4,640 | $62K | 12.3% | 0.5% | 22% | B− |
| 1,919 | Williamsburg Township OH | 5,900 | $66K | 9.6% | 3.3% | 6% | B− |
| 1,920 | Saratoga WI | 5,141 | $74K | 5.9% | 3.6% | 6% | B− |
| 1,921 | Minot AFB ND | 4,878 | $63K | 1.2% | 6.1% | 8% | B− |
| 1,922 | Paris ME | 5,409 | $75K | 12.5% | 1.5% | 17% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Saratoga, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Around Saratoga: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Nekoosa (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saratoga workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saratoga | – | B− | D | 31 min | $74,499 |
| Nekoosa | 3% | D | B+ | 23 min | $46,458 |
| Port Edwards | under 3% | C | D | 23 min | $81,103 |
| Port Edwards | under 3% | C+ | C− | 25 min | $75,598 |
| Rome | under 3% | B | C− | 37 min | $79,728 |
| Grant | under 3% | B | D | 24 min | $89,167 |
| Grand Rapids | 3% | B+ | D | 24 min | $96,658 |
| Armenia | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Armenia: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saratoga’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 Saratoga: questions
What is the median household income in Saratoga?
$74,499 (±$7,255) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saratoga?
5.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saratoga?
31 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saratoga work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wisconsin Rapids (23%, 8 mi), Stevens Point (6%, 21 mi), Plover (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Saratoga walkable?
Saratoga is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saratoga 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 Saratoga, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saratoga
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.