Photo: Kenwkoun · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Stephenson (8.3%) than in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Stephenson for work; outside it, Crivitz is the main destination (14%, 6 miles). Stephenson grades D for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Measured by household income, Stephenson is behind 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Stephenson in brief
Many jobs in Stephenson pay little
36% of the jobs based in Stephenson pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Stephenson makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Stephenson are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Stephenson residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. 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.
The figures behind Stephenson’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Stephenson is better than 8% of U.S. towns, #355 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate holds Stephenson’s grade up (14.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Stephenson could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Making and building: 36% of jobs based in Stephenson
518 jobs are based in Stephenson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Stephenson, 2013 → 2023: 458 → 518. 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 Stephenson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Stephenson’s workers travel
About 41% 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.
Who commutes out of Stephenson, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,254 residents head out to work, 132 work right here, and 386 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Stephenson on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.37 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.
Where Stephenson goes to work
Where Stephenson clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Stephenson workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 918 commuters (the 16% 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.
In Stephenson, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Stephenson is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns, #307 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Stephenson 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 1,090 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). 2.2% of Stephenson households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Stephenson’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 2,600 to 4,900, and where Stephenson sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,923 | Manning SC | 3,829 | $29K | 17.7% | 7.2% | 21% | D |
| 3,924 | Tulia TX | 4,242 | $32K | 31.9% | 4.2% | 33% | D |
| 3,925 | Stephenson WI | 3,654 | $57K | 14.4% | 8.3% | 10% | D |
| 3,926 | Planada CA | 3,506 | $43K | 21.4% | 8.1% | 4% | D |
| 3,927 | Point Baker FL | 3,976 | $65K | 26.1% | 10.1% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,210 | 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 Stephenson, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work in the towns next to Stephenson
The biggest share goes to Beaver (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Stephenson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephenson | – | D | C− | 26 min | $56,550 |
| Beaver | 2% | C− | D | 31 min | $65,455 |
| Middle Inlet | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Lake | under 2% | C | C+ | 28 min | $77,857 |
| Lakewood | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Athelstane | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Brazeau | under 2% | C | C− | 32 min | $72,688 |
| Riverview | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Silver Cliff | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Wausaukee | under 2% | C | C+ | 31 min | $68,864 |
Same-state neighbors only. Middle Inlet, Lakewood, Athelstane, Riverview and Silver Cliff: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Stephenson’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 Stephenson: questions
What is the median household income in Stephenson?
$56,550 (±$5,464) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Stephenson?
14.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Stephenson?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Stephenson work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Crivitz (14%, 6 mi), Marinette (10%, 27 mi), Green Bay (5%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Stephenson walkable?
Stephenson is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Stephenson without a car?
0% 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 Stephenson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Stephenson
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.