Photo: Nfarmakes · CC BY-SA 4.0Superior has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
302 jobs are based in Superior; 930 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Superior A; getting around on foot earns it D. Measured by household income, Superior is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Superior
Superior and Superior trade workers both ways
Superior is the top workplace for Superior residents (38%) and also where the most people who work in Superior come from (34% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Superior workers cross into Minnesota
36% of Superior workers work outside Wisconsin, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Duluth (28%), Hermantown (2%) and Cloquet (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Superior 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 930 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Superior’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Superior is better than 86% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Superior’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Superior’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, Superior could be anywhere from A− to A.
38% of working residents work in Superior
Where Superior clocks in
38% of workers
28% 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.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Superior
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Superior workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 907 commuters (the 5% 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 Superior
On a workday 904 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 276 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Superior on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
Most jobs in Superior are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Superior, 2013 → 2023: 211 → 302. 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 Superior’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Superior goes to work
About 21% 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.
Driving is how Superior gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Superior is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 955 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 1% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.6% of Superior households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Superior’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Superior is 512th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 35 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Vandenbroek WI | 1,701 | $129K | 1.6% | 5.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 510 | Tremont IL | 2,243 | $80K | 5.1% | 0.3% | 5% | A |
| 511 | Laurel Springs NJ | 1,999 | $119K | 4.3% | 5.5% | 2% | A |
| 512 | Superior WI | 2,295 | $118K | 2.7% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| 513 | Blue Jay OH | 1,797 | $118K | 8.2% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| 514 | Dovre Township MN | 2,173 | $129K | 6.2% | 0.4% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Superior, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Bordering towns draw 28% of Superior’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Superior workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior | – | A | D | 27 min | $118,194 |
| Oliver | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Summit | under 1% | C | D− | 37 min | $71,071 |
| Parkland | under 1% | B+ | C− | 37 min | $94,500 |
| Oakland | under 1% | B | D− | 33 min | $88,828 |
Same-state neighbors only. Oliver: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Duluth. Darker towns draw more of Superior’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 Superior: questions
What is the median household income in Superior?
$118,194 (±$7,576) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Superior?
2.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Superior?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Superior work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Superior (38%, 8 mi), Duluth (28%, 13 mi), Hermantown (2%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Superior walkable?
Superior is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Superior without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Superior, from the people who make the trip.
More of Superior
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.