With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Springfield works elsewhere
Hardly any stay in Springfield for work; outside it, Black River Falls is the main destination (14%, 13 miles). Springfield has 54 jobs for 320 working residents. Working residents average 29 minutes each way (Wisconsin 22, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Springfield in brief
Springfield is a place people come home to
There are 54 jobs based in Springfield, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Springfield has about 420 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Springfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 54 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; with 320 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
In and out of Springfield on a workday
On a workday 319 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 53 people come in from elsewhere.
About 420 people are in Springfield on a workday afternoon, 39% 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.
Springfield’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Springfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 234 commuters (the 11% 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.
Commuting out of Springfield: the destinations
Where Springfield clocks in
7% 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.
Making and building: 52% of jobs based in Springfield
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 208 → 54. 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 Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Springfield goes to work
About 25% 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.
Springfield and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Preston (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Springfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | – | — | — | 29 min | $85,313 |
| Albion | under 3% | C | D | 22 min | $68,214 |
| Curran | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Franklin | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Preston | 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Blair | under 3% | C− | C+ | 24 min | $60,446 |
| Hixton | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Curran and Hixton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Franklin and Preston: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Springfield’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 Springfield: questions
What is the median household income in Springfield?
$85,313 (±$17,054) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
13.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Black River Falls (14%, 13 mi), La Crosse (7%, 32 mi), Whitehall (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Springfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Springfield
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.