Photo: Awkwafaba · CC BY-SA 3.0Vernon has lower unemployment (1.4%) than 91% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Vernon; the top destination outside it is Milwaukee (11%, 20 miles). Jobs and income earn Vernon A+; getting around on foot earns it C−. Household incomes here are higher than in 88% 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 Vernon
Vernon workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Vernon has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Vernon went from 849 in 2013 to 1,263 in 2023, +49%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Vernon’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Vernon is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #12 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Vernon’s grade. 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, Vernon could be anywhere from A to A+.
How long Vernon spends getting to work: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vernon workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,076 commuters (the 15% 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.
Vernon makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods
1,263 jobs are based in Vernon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vernon, 2013 → 2023: 849 → 1,263. 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 Vernon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Vernon
On a workday 3,199 residents head out to work, 76 work right here, and 1,187 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Vernon on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.39 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.
Commuting out of Vernon: the destinations
Where Vernon clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
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.
How far it is to work from Vernon
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 Vernon gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Vernon is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns, #318 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% of 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 3,615 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). 0.0% of Vernon households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Vernon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,100, Vernon ranks 75th of 3,125 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Union KY | 7,937 | $137K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 74 | Parkville MO | 9,093 | $171K | 2.0% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| 75 | Vernon WI | 7,464 | $120K | 3.0% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 76 | Cottage Grove WI | 8,930 | $139K | 3.7% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| 77 | Grandwood Park IL | 5,262 | $127K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,125 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Vernon, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
15% of Vernon works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to New Berlin (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vernon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | – | A+ | C− | 30 min | $120,000 |
| Big Bend | under 3% | A+ | C− | 25 min | $134,615 |
| Mukwonago | 5% | A− | C+ | 22 min | $98,273 |
| Muskego | 3% | A+ | B− | 23 min | $112,221 |
| Mukwonago | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Waterford | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Tichigan | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| New Berlin | 7% | A+ | C | 22 min | $101,091 |
| Waukesha | under 3% | A+ | C− | 26 min | $130,978 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mukwonago and Waterford: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Tichigan: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Vernon’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 Vernon: questions
What is the median household income in Vernon?
$120,000 (±$15,988) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vernon?
3.0%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vernon?
30 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vernon work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (11%, 20 mi), Waukesha (10%, 9 mi), New Berlin (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Vernon walkable?
Vernon is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vernon without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vernon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vernon
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.