Most of South Lancaster commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
The trip to work takes 17 minutes on average (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). Employers in South Lancaster report 181 jobs, and 375 of its residents work somewhere. For 9% of workers, the job is at home; Wisconsin has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in South Lancaster
South Lancaster and Lancaster trade workers both ways
Lancaster is the top workplace for South Lancaster residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in South Lancaster come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from South Lancaster are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Wisconsin worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 375 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
18% of working residents work in Lancaster
Where South Lancaster clocks in
18% of workers
13% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from South Lancaster
About 30% 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.
The trip to work from South Lancaster: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Lancaster workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 260 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.
South Lancaster by day and by night
On a workday 367 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 173 people come in from elsewhere.
About 670 people are in South Lancaster on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 56% of the jobs in South Lancaster
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Lancaster, 2014 → 2024: 247 → 181. 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 South Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
18% of South Lancaster works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Lancaster workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Lancaster | – | — | — | 17 min | $77,500 |
| Lancaster | 18% | B+ | A− | 19 min | $84,302 |
| Ellenboro | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Beetown | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Potosi | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| North Lancaster | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ellenboro, Beetown, Potosi and North Lancaster: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lancaster. Darker towns draw more of South Lancaster’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 South Lancaster: questions
What is the median household income in South Lancaster?
$77,500 (±$14,530) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Lancaster?
8.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Lancaster?
17 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Lancaster work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lancaster (18%, 3 mi), Platteville (13%, 14 mi), Dodgeville (6%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around South Lancaster without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Lancaster, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Lancaster
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.