With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Sylvan works elsewhere
Only 2% work in Sylvan itself; outside it, Richland Center draws the most (29%, 13 miles). Sylvan has 64 jobs; 220 of its residents have a job. 6% of workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Sylvan: the gist
Sylvan is a place people come home to
There are 64 jobs based in Sylvan, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sylvan has about 370 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
29% of Sylvan works in Richland Center
64 working residents, 29%, have their main job in Richland Center, 13 miles away. That’s 15 times as many as work in Sylvan itself. The commute map ↓
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 220 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The workday shuffle in and out of Sylvan
On a workday 216 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 60 people come in from elsewhere.
About 370 people are in Sylvan on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
Commuting out of Sylvan: the destinations
Where Sylvan clocks in
5% 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.
A place that makes things: 64% of Sylvan’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sylvan, 2013 → 2023: 71 → 64. 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 Sylvan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Sylvan: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sylvan workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 139 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 distance from Sylvan to work
About 28% 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.
Sylvan and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sylvan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan | – | — | — | 24 min | $66,667 |
| Marshall | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Forest | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Akan | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Kickapoo | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Clayton | under 2% | C− | C+ | 28 min | $71,125 |
Same-state neighbors only. Marshall: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Forest, Akan and Kickapoo: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sylvan’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 Sylvan: questions
What is the median household income in Sylvan?
$66,667 (±$16,793) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sylvan?
22.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sylvan?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sylvan work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richland Center (29%, 13 mi), Reedsburg (5%, 32 mi), Madison (5%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Sylvan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sylvan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sylvan
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.