Unemployment in Somerset (2.3%) is lower than in 80% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work on average, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S. 5% of workers work from home, next to 13% for Wisconsin as a whole. About one in ten work in Somerset itself; outside it, Hudson draws the most (7%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Somerset: the figures worth knowing
Somerset trades workers with the towns around it
Somerset has about as many jobs (1,823) as working residents (1,722), but they are mostly different people: 1,576 residents leave for work each day while 1,677 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Somerset are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Somerset makes and builds things
53% of the jobs based in Somerset are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Somerset residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Somerset workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Somerset’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Somerset is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #252 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment holds Somerset’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (14.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Somerset could be anywhere from C+ to A.
How many people are in Somerset by day
On a workday 1,576 residents head out to work, 146 work right here, and 1,677 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Goods jobs make up 53% of work in Somerset
1,823 jobs are based in Somerset.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Somerset, 2013 → 2023: 1,380 → 1,823. 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 Somerset’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Somerset spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Somerset workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,727 commuters (the 5% 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.
Where people from Somerset work
Where Somerset clocks in
7% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Miles to work from Somerset
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.
Somerset is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Somerset is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #171 of 362 in Wisconsin. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 6.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,825 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). 3.9% of Somerset households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Somerset’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Somerset ranks: 1,586th of 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,584 | Athens Township MI | 2,458 | $63K | 5.4% | 2.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,585 | Carefree AZ | 3,600 | $147K | 11.3% | 3.8% | 8% | B |
| 1,586 | Somerset WI | 3,408 | $80K | 14.8% | 2.3% | 8% | B |
| 1,587 | Lexington Township IN | 3,505 | $76K | 8.7% | 1.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,588 | Whitefield ME | 2,410 | $74K | 7.1% | 1.3% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Somerset, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
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 Somerset: questions
What is the median household income in Somerset?
$80,395 (±$12,835) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Somerset?
14.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Somerset?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Somerset work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hudson (7%, 12 mi), St. Paul (7%, 24 mi), Stillwater (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Somerset walkable?
Somerset is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Somerset without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Somerset, from the people who make the trip.
More of Somerset
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. 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.