Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Sumner
Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers, next to 13% for Wisconsin as a whole. Hardly any stay in Sumner for work; outside it, Rice Lake is the main destination (33%, 8 miles). The average commute takes 27 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Sumner at work: what stands out
Sumner and Rice Lake trade workers both ways
Rice Lake is the top workplace for Sumner residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Sumner come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Sumner workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 38 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 324 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Sumner’s working residents head each day
Where Sumner 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.
Getting to work from Sumner takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sumner workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 298 commuters (the 6% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Sumner
On a workday 323 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 187 people come in from elsewhere.
About 580 people are in Sumner 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.
Making and building: 40% of jobs based in Sumner
188 jobs are based in Sumner.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sumner, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 188. 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 Sumner’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Sumner
About 20% 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.
Work in the towns next to Sumner
The biggest share goes to Stanley (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sumner workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumner | – | — | — | 27 min | $79,286 |
| Strickland | under 1% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Doyle | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Chetek | under 1% | B+ | B | 23 min | $95,357 |
| Stanley | 2% | B | C+ | 23 min | $68,333 |
Same-state neighbors only. Strickland and Doyle: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sumner’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 Sumner: questions
What is the median household income in Sumner?
$79,286 (±$6,483) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sumner?
4.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sumner?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sumner work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rice Lake (33%, 8 mi), Eau Claire (8%, 42 mi), Barron (7%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Sumner without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sumner, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sumner
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.