Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in West Baraboo (2.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 73% of U.S. towns. West Baraboo grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The trip to work takes 19 minutes on average, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in West Baraboo, in a few figures
West Baraboo and Baraboo trade workers both ways
Baraboo is the top workplace for West Baraboo residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in West Baraboo come from (24% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Many jobs in West Baraboo pay little
30% of the jobs based in West Baraboo pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 32% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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; with 833 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind West Baraboo’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Baraboo is better than 54% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds West Baraboo’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($60,880, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Baraboo could be anywhere from C to B+.
21% of working residents work in Baraboo
Where West Baraboo clocks in
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.
Inside West Baraboo’s 913 jobs
913 jobs are based in West Baraboo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Baraboo, 2013 → 2023: 856 → 913. 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 West Baraboo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes West Baraboo
On a workday 800 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 880 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
From West Baraboo, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Baraboo workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 901 commuters (the 8% 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 West Baraboo goes to work
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.
In West Baraboo, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Baraboo is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% 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 975 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). 2.3% of West Baraboo households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Baraboo’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Baraboo places 1,902nd of 5,794 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Nashotah WI | 1,298 | $148K | 1.1% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Maple Bluff WI | 1,305 | $199K | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,900 | Dotsero CO | 1,306 | $84K | 2.5% | 5.9% | 5% | B− |
| 1,901 | Rockvale TN | 1,611 | $86K | 14.7% | 4.4% | <1% | B− |
| 1,902 | West Baraboo WI | 1,572 | $61K | 9.6% | 2.1% | 4% | B− |
| 1,903 | Hopedale Township IL | 1,806 | $98K | 12.2% | 9.0% | 10% | B− |
| 1,904 | King Township PA | 1,172 | $74K | 5.7% | 3.2% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 West Baraboo, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
21% of West Baraboo works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Baraboo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Baraboo | – | B− | A− | 19 min | $60,880 |
| Baraboo | under 2% | B+ | B− | 18 min | $100,909 |
| Baraboo | 21% | B | B+ | 22 min | $69,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Baraboo. Darker towns draw more of West Baraboo’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 West Baraboo: questions
What is the median household income in West Baraboo?
$60,880 (±$10,806) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Baraboo?
9.6%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Baraboo?
19 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Baraboo work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baraboo (21%, 2 mi), Madison (11%, 32 mi), Lake Delton (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Baraboo walkable?
West Baraboo is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Baraboo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Baraboo, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Baraboo
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.