Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0At 5.3%, unemployment in Watertown is higher than in 65% of U.S. towns
7% of workers have no commute at all, against 13% across Wisconsin. The two grades for Watertown are B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in four stay in Watertown for work; outside it, Madison is the main destination (6%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What’s behind Watertown’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Watertown is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #294 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car holds Watertown’s grade up (ahead of 70% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Watertown could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Watertown on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,211 residents head out to work, 2,881 work right here, and 5,323 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Watertown on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
The towns that employ Watertown’s residents
Where Watertown clocks in
6% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Watertown: 8,204 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watertown, 2013 → 2023: 8,594 → 8,204. 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 Watertown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Watertown takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watertown workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,315 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far Watertown goes to work
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.
Watertown is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watertown is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #73 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Watertown 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 11,084 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.5% of Watertown households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Watertown’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,172nd of 1,712: where Watertown ranks among U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Verona WI | 16,821 | $120K | 1.4% | 1.6% | 21% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Muskego WI | 25,602 | $112K | 3.0% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Waunakee WI | 16,411 | $125K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,170 | South Venice FL | 17,484 | $77K | 12.5% | 3.9% | 5% | B− |
| 1,171 | Rancho Mirage CA | 17,876 | $107K | 11.7% | 9.4% | 14% | B− |
| 1,172 | Watertown WI | 22,704 | $70K | 9.9% | 5.3% | 26% | B− |
| 1,173 | Mason City IA | 26,853 | $65K | 12.0% | 2.8% | 56% | B− |
| 1,174 | Ashland CA | 22,210 | $82K | 16.4% | 6.7% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Watertown, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Around Watertown: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Watertown’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 Watertown: questions
What is the median household income in Watertown?
$70,107 (±$5,618) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watertown?
9.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watertown?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watertown work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (6%, 36 mi), Oconomowoc (5%, 13 mi), Milwaukee (3%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Watertown walkable?
Watertown is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watertown without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watertown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watertown
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.