Photo: Mjrichter at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0West Bend has lower unemployment (3.2%) than 66% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 26 minutes each way, where Wisconsin has 22 and the U.S. 26. Jobs and income earn West Bend B+; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in five work in West Bend itself; outside it, Milwaukee draws the most (10%, 27 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: West Bend in brief
West Bend trades workers with the towns around it
West Bend has about as many jobs (14,525) as working residents (16,289), but they are mostly different people: 12,793 residents leave for work each day while 11,029 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in West Bend are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
West Bend’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside West Bend is Milwaukee, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (1,627) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: West Bend’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Bend is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #232 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car holds West Bend’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($74,076, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Bend could be anywhere from B to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of West Bend
On a workday 12,793 residents head out to work, 3,496 work right here, and 11,029 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 (0.89 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.
How many miles West Bend commutes
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.
Out of West Bend to work: where people go
Where West Bend clocks in
10% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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 the 14,525 jobs in West Bend are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Bend, 2013 → 2023: 13,102 → 14,525. 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 Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
West Bend’s commute takes about 26 minutes
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 15,365 commuters (the 9% 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 in West Bend is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Bend is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #105 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place West Bend 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 16,868 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). 5.8% of West Bend households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Bend is 645th of 1,283 U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Brookfield WI | 41,448 | $130K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Muskego WI | 25,602 | $112K | 3.0% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Mequon WI | 25,120 | $144K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 643 | Center Township IN | 41,874 | $79K | 8.8% | 3.2% | 11% | B+ |
| 644 | Spanaway WA | 34,019 | $98K | 8.8% | 4.7% | 4% | B+ |
| 645 | West Bend WI | 32,268 | $74K | 8.2% | 3.2% | 21% | B+ |
| 646 | Canyon Lake TX | 33,883 | $97K | 7.3% | 4.0% | 8% | B+ |
| 647 | Citrus Park FL | 28,804 | $93K | 10.3% | 4.9% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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.
Work in the towns next to West Bend
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 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 Bend: questions
What is the median household income in West Bend?
$74,076 (±$4,250) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Bend?
8.2%, 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. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Bend work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (10%, 27 mi), Menomonee Falls (5%, 18 mi), Germantown (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Bend walkable?
West Bend is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Bend without a car?
<1% 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), 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.