John C. and Mary Robinson Farmstead · Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Union works elsewhere
Measured by household income, Union is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. 62 jobs are based in Union, and 791 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Union A; getting around on foot earns it D.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Union stands out on work
Union is a place people come home to
There are 62 jobs based in Union, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Union has about 1,400 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Union and Evansville trade workers both ways
Evansville is the top workplace for Union residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Union come from (19% of its jobs). 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 791 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Union
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Union is better than 91% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Union could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Union by day and by night
On a workday 784 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 55 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Union on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
19% of working residents work in Evansville
Where Union clocks in
12% of workers
11% 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 Union, 35% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union, 2013 → 2023: 110 → 62. 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 Union’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,008 commuters (the 12% 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.
Where in the region Union works
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.
The commute in Union is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Union is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Union 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 1,142 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.3% of Union households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Union’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Union is 319th among 5,148 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Vandenbroek WI | 1,701 | $129K | 1.6% | 5.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 317 | Clifton WI | 2,289 | $123K | 4.3% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| 318 | Lake Lotawana MO | 2,756 | $166K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 2% | A |
| 319 | Union WI | 2,099 | $99K | 3.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| 320 | Salem AR | 2,642 | $74K | 2.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| 321 | Richfield Township OH | 1,581 | $101K | 1.4% | 6.4% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | 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 Union, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
19% of Union works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | – | A | D | 26 min | $99,279 |
| Evansville | 19% | A− | C+ | 27 min | $81,149 |
| Magnolia | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Porter | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Rutland | under 2% | A | D | 23 min | $105,000 |
| Brooklyn | under 2% | A | C+ | 33 min | $102,917 |
Same-state neighbors only. Magnolia and Porter: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Evansville. Darker towns draw more of Union’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 Union: questions
What is the median household income in Union?
$99,279 (±$13,262) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union?
3.3%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Evansville (19%, 2 mi), Madison (12%, 20 mi), Janesville (11%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Union walkable?
Union is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Union, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union
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.