Photo: Patriarca12 · CC BY 3.0West Milwaukee has 2.4 jobs for every working resident: 4,543 people commute in to work
4,604 jobs are based in West Milwaukee for 1,942 working residents. West Milwaukee grades B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 89% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in West Milwaukee: the gist
West Milwaukee and Milwaukee trade workers both ways
Milwaukee is the top workplace for West Milwaukee residents (34%) and also where the most people who work in West Milwaukee come from (32% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
West Milwaukee is where the jobs are
West Milwaukee has 4,604 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 6,600 people are in town, 67% more than the 4,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most West Milwaukee residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
33% of the jobs based in West Milwaukee are held by workers 29 or younger, against 24% of West Milwaukee’s own working residents. 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.
What’s behind West Milwaukee’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Milwaukee is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #274 of 362 in Wisconsin. Job access by car holds West Milwaukee’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($49,128, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Milwaukee could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The towns that send workers to West Milwaukee
Where West Milwaukee clocks in
34% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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 Milwaukee nearly doubles on a workday
On a workday 1,881 residents head out to work and 61 work right here.
About 6,600 people are in West Milwaukee on a workday afternoon, 67% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Short hops and long hauls from West Milwaukee
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.
Factories, building and farms: 31% of the jobs in West Milwaukee
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Milwaukee, 2014 → 2024: 4,356 → 4,604. 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 Milwaukee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From West Milwaukee, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Milwaukee workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,976 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.
West Milwaukee is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 2,143 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 73% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.1% of West Milwaukee households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of West Milwaukee’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Milwaukee next to U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400: 1,973rd of 4,177 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Bristol WI | 4,347 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,971 | Highlands NJ | 4,350 | $92K | 10.1% | 7.5% | 7% | B− |
| 1,972 | Jasper TN | 3,636 | $73K | 10.1% | 3.0% | 17% | B− |
| 1,973 | West Milwaukee WI | 3,984 | $49K | 20.4% | 1.6% | 3% | B− |
| 1,974 | Homer Township MI | 3,952 | $117K | 10.5% | 5.7% | 3% | B− |
| 1,975 | Chazy NY | 4,035 | $96K | 6.5% | 4.3% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | 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 Milwaukee, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
39% of West Milwaukee works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Milwaukee (34%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Milwaukee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Milwaukee | – | B− | A | 18 min | $49,128 |
| Milwaukee | 34% | C | A+ | 22 min | $54,234 |
| West Allis | 5% | B | A | 21 min | $67,611 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Milwaukee’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 Milwaukee: questions
What is the median household income in West Milwaukee?
$49,128 (±$6,536) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Milwaukee?
20.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Milwaukee?
18 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 Milwaukee work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (34%, 4 mi), Wauwatosa (5%, 5 mi), West Allis (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Milwaukee walkable?
West Milwaukee is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 16.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Milwaukee without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 73% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Milwaukee, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Milwaukee
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.