Most of Vermont commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Vermont has 128 jobs, and 442 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Vermont; the top destination outside it is Madison (36%, 18 miles). For 29% of workers, the job is at home; Wisconsin has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Vermont
Vermont and Madison trade workers both ways
Madison is the top workplace for Vermont residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Vermont come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Vermont is a place people come home to
There are 128 jobs based in Vermont, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Vermont has about 570 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Vermont
29% of Vermont workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. 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 442 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The towns that employ Vermont’s residents
Where Vermont clocks in
36% of workers
6% 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.
Who commutes out of Vermont, and who commutes in
On a workday 440 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 126 people come in from elsewhere.
About 570 people are in Vermont 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.
The daily trip from Vermont: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vermont workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 391 commuters (the 29% 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 kinds of work in Vermont
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vermont, 2013 → 2023: 96 → 128. 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 Vermont’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Vermont
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.
Next door to Vermont
The biggest share goes to Blue Mounds (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vermont workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | – | — | — | 28 min | $102,656 |
| Blue Mounds | 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Black Earth | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Arena | under 2% | B | D | 30 min | $97,375 |
| Cross Plains | under 2% | A+ | C | 23 min | $162,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Blue Mounds: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Black Earth: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Vermont’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 Vermont: questions
What is the median household income in Vermont?
$102,656 (±$41,931) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vermont?
1.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vermont?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vermont work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (36%, 18 mi), Verona (9%, 14 mi), Mount Horeb (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Vermont without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vermont, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vermont
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.