Photo: Wernerradio · CC BY-SA 4.0Waupaca draws 4,772 commuters a day, with 2.1 jobs for every working resident
Measured by household income, Waupaca is behind 84% of U.S. towns. Employers in Waupaca report 5,643 jobs for 2,703 working residents. The two grades for Waupaca are C for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Waupaca, in a few figures
Waupaca is where the jobs are
Waupaca has 5,643 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 9,300 people are in town, 46% more than the 6,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Waupaca workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (16 to 22 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Waupaca makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Waupaca are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Waupaca residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Waupaca draws workers from far and wide
The 5,643 jobs in Waupaca are filled from a wide area. Waupaca’s own residents hold 15% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
The four measures behind Waupaca’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waupaca is better than 25% of U.S. towns, #339 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car holds Waupaca’s grade up (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,727, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waupaca could be anywhere from D to B.
In and out of Waupaca on a workday
On a workday 1,832 residents head out to work and 871 work right here.
About 9,300 people are in Waupaca on a workday afternoon, 46% more 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 trip to work from Waupaca: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waupaca workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,252 commuters (the 10% 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.
36% of the jobs in Waupaca make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waupaca, 2013 → 2023: 5,587 → 5,643. 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 Waupaca’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The towns that send workers to Waupaca
Where Waupaca clocks in
6% of workers
4% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Waupaca
About 22% 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.
In Waupaca, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waupaca is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #170 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 2,494 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). 10.3% of Waupaca households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Waupaca’s commuters take a bus or train.
Waupaca is 2,675th of 3,396 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,600 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,673 | Centralia MO | 4,767 | $66K | 11.9% | 7.0% | 22% | C |
| 2,674 | Sealy TX | 7,937 | $57K | 21.4% | 5.4% | 13% | C |
| 2,675 | Waupaca WI | 6,352 | $53K | 11.5% | 5.6% | 32% | C |
| 2,676 | St. Johnsbury VT | 7,354 | $58K | 16.8% | 3.3% | 38% | C |
| 2,677 | Raeford NC | 4,703 | $46K | 20.7% | 3.8% | 20% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,396 | 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 Waupaca, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Around Waupaca: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Farmington (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waupaca workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waupaca | – | C | B− | 28 min | $52,727 |
| Farmington | 6% | B+ | D | 18 min | $83,244 |
| King | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Chain O' Lakes | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Lind | under 2% | B− | C+ | 22 min | $78,636 |
Same-state neighbors only. King and Chain O' Lakes: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waupaca’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 Waupaca: questions
What is the median household income in Waupaca?
$52,727 (±$7,606) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waupaca?
11.5%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waupaca?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waupaca work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Farmington (6%, 5 mi), Weyauwega (4%, 7 mi), Appleton (3%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waupaca walkable?
Waupaca is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waupaca without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waupaca, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waupaca
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.