Smelser has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Commuters spend 20 minutes getting to work on average; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26. 76 jobs are based in Smelser; 396 of its residents have a job. Only 1% stay in Smelser for work; outside it, Dubuque is the main destination (20%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Smelser
Smelser is a place people come home to
There are 76 jobs based in Smelser, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Smelser has about 470 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Smelser workers cross into Iowa
19% of Smelser workers work outside Wisconsin, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Dubuque (20%) and Galena (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
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 396 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many people are in Smelser by day
On a workday 392 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 72 people come in from elsewhere.
About 470 people are in Smelser on a workday afternoon, 40% 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 the trip to work from Smelser ends
Where Smelser clocks in
20% of workers
9% 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.
Jobs in Smelser: what the 76 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Smelser, 2013 → 2023: 56 → 76. 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 Smelser’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes to work from Smelser
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Smelser workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 271 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Smelser
About 26% 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.
Smelser and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Cuba City (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Smelser workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smelser | – | — | — | 20 min | $72,358 |
| Platteville | under 2% | B | B | 19 min | $82,321 |
| Cuba City | 6% | A− | C+ | 22 min | $74,571 |
| Paris | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Hazel Green | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Benton | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Paris and Hazel Green: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Benton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Smelser’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 Smelser: questions
What is the median household income in Smelser?
$72,358 (±$2,194) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Smelser?
10.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Smelser?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Smelser work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dubuque (20%, 15 mi), Platteville (9%, 6 mi), Cuba City (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Smelser 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 Smelser, from the people who make the trip.
More of Smelser
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.