Springfield has 0.0 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs and income earn Springfield A−; getting around on foot earns it C. There are 20 jobs in Springfield for 465 working residents. Hardly any work in Springfield; the top destination outside it is Baldwin (10%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Springfield, in brief
Springfield is a place people come home to
There are 20 jobs based in Springfield, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Springfield has about 570 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Springfield 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; with 465 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Springfield’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Springfield is better than 79% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Springfield’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (5.8%) is left out: Springfield’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, Springfield could be anywhere from B+ to A.
In and out of Springfield on a workday
On a workday 464 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.
About 570 people are in Springfield on a workday afternoon, 44% 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.
The daily trip from Springfield: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 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 499 commuters (the 19% 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.
Out of Springfield to work: where people go
Where Springfield clocks in
10% of workers
8% 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.
In Springfield, 40% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 42 → 20. 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Springfield
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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Springfield is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Springfield is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 4.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 616 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). 1.5% of Springfield households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Springfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Springfield is 284th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Kaukauna WI | 1,295 | $122K | 2.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 282 | Marcellon WI | 1,141 | $99K | 0.5% | 0.0% | 1% | A− |
| 283 | Albers IL | 1,114 | $110K | 7.2% | 3.1% | 2% | A− |
| 284 | Springfield WI | 1,010 | $97K | 2.4% | 5.8% | <1% | A− |
| 285 | Union Grove Township IL | 1,165 | $106K | 0.6% | 5.8% | <1% | A− |
| 286 | Emmet WI | 1,274 | $96K | 5.3% | 7.3% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Springfield, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
How Springfield compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Springfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | – | A− | C | 28 min | $97,188 |
| Wilson | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Baldwin | under 2% | A− | C | 28 min | $103,068 |
| Glenwood | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Stanton | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Cady | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wilson: the same community as the town of that name, graded once. Glenwood, Stanton and Cady: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. 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?
$97,188 (±$19,867) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
2.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baldwin (10%, 9 mi), Hudson (8%, 26 mi), Menomonie (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Springfield walkable?
Springfield is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
2% 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 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. 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.