Photo: Mjrichter at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0West Bend’s household incomes are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in West Bend; the top destination outside it is West Bend (16%, 3 miles). Poverty touches 3.1% of residents; Wisconsin has 10.6%. West Bend grades A+ for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in West Bend, in brief
West Bend trades workers with the towns around it
West Bend has about as many jobs (1,887) as working residents (2,206), but they are mostly different people: 2,112 residents leave for work each day while 1,793 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in West Bend are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
West Bend and West Bend trade workers both ways
West Bend is the top workplace for West Bend residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in West Bend come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in West Bend is services
89% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 6% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in West Bend pay over $40,000 a year
73% of the jobs based in West Bend pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside West Bend’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Bend is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #53 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns). 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, West Bend could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of West Bend
On a workday 2,112 residents head out to work, 94 work right here, and 1,793 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 (0.86 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of West Bend to work: where people go
Where West Bend clocks in
16% of workers
10% 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.
West Bend is a services town
1,887 jobs are based in West Bend.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Bend, 2014 → 2024: 1,868 → 1,887. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Bend workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,606 commuters (the 18% 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 commute from West Bend, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In West Bend, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Bend is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns, #342 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,956 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). 5.6% of West Bend households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,908 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 5,900, West Bend comes 195th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Lafayette Township IN | 4,451 | $119K | 3.8% | 1.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 194 | Township 2 NE | 3,213 | $116K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| 195 | West Bend WI | 4,401 | $120K | 3.1% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 196 | Kingsville MD | 4,687 | $129K | 6.8% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 197 | Elizabeth Township PA | 3,951 | $100K | 4.8% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,908 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Bend, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
West Bend and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of West Bend’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 2024, 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 Bend: questions
What is the median household income in West Bend?
$120,119 (±$13,236) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Bend?
3.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Bend?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Bend work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Bend (16%, 3 mi), Milwaukee (10%, 26 mi), Menomonee Falls (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Bend walkable?
West Bend is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Bend without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Bend, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Bend
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.