Spring Valley has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B−: better than 47% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability C+: more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns.
Household incomes here are lower than in 59% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 27 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26). Only 7% work in Spring Valley; the top destination outside it is Elmwood (9%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Spring Valley, in brief
The quickest commute around
Spring Valley’s 27-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 30 to 35 minutes. Next door ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Spring Valley than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Spring Valley fell from 520 in 2013 to 380 in 2023, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Spring Valley pay little
26% of the jobs based in Spring Valley pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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 652 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Spring Valley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Spring Valley is better than 47% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Spring Valley’s grade up (6.6%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 31% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.4%) is left out: Spring Valley’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Spring Valley could be anywhere from C− to B+.
What the 380 jobs in Spring Valley are
380 jobs are based in Spring Valley. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Spring Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spring Valley, 2013 → 2023: 520 → 380. 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.
Spring Valley quiets down on a workday
On a workday 608 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 336 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Spring Valley on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Elmwood
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Spring Valley clocks in
Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 27 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spring Valley workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 645 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.
Half of Spring Valley commutes less than 20 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 23% 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.
Most trips from Spring Valley start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Spring Valley is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Spring Valley 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 709 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). 4.4% of Spring Valley households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Spring Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Spring Valley is 2,246th of 5,877 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Spring Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,244 | Rio Rancho Estates NM | 1,571 | $92K | 19.6% | 3.7% | <1% | B− |
| 2,245 | Avoca IA | 1,661 | $73K | 7.0% | 1.3% | 16% | B− |
| 2,246 | Spring Valley WI | 1,443 | $70K | 6.6% | 5.4% | 7% | B− |
| 2,247 | Cerro Gordo Township IL | 1,887 | $86K | 12.5% | 5.9% | 6% | B− |
| 2,248 | Moorland Township MI | 1,767 | $74K | 9.5% | 5.9% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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.
Spring Valley and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Spring Valley’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spring Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Valley | – | B− | C+ | 27 min | $69,750 |
| Cady | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Spring Lake | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Gilman | under 3% | B | C | 30 min | $107,969 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cady and Spring Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Spring Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Spring Valley?
$69,750 (±$27,895) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spring Valley?
6.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spring Valley?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spring Valley work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elmwood (9%, 7 mi), Menomonie (7%, 16 mi), River Falls (6%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Spring Valley walkable?
Spring Valley is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spring Valley 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 Spring Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spring Valley
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.