Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0Households in West Point have higher incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 2.2% of residents; Wisconsin has 10.6%. For jobs and income West Point is better than 96% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (B−). Only 3% stay in West Point for work; outside it, Madison is the main destination (28%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: West Point in brief
West Point makes and builds things
49% of the jobs based in West Point are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs West Point residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
West Point workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 22 across Wisconsin. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
West Point is a place people come home to
There are 318 jobs based in West Point, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday West Point has about 1,300 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
28% of West Point works in Madison
298 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Madison, 20 miles away. That’s 9 times as many as work in West Point itself. 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.
Jobs & income in West Point: the grade in detail
The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 57% 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 Point could be anywhere from A to A+.
A place that makes things: 49% of West Point’s jobs are in goods
318 jobs are based in West Point.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Point, 2013 → 2023: 211 → 318. 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 Point’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From West Point, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Point workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 902 commuters (the 19% 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 daily flow of workers through West Point
On a workday 1,035 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 284 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in West Point on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.30 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of West Point to work: where people go
Where West Point clocks in
28% of workers
10% 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 Point’s commute, mile by mile
About 17% 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.
Few in West Point walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,110 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). 0.9% of West Point households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Point’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,793 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800, West Point comes 178th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Wind Point WI | 1,620 | $143K | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 41 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Vandenbroek WI | 1,701 | $129K | 1.6% | 5.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 176 | Lovettsville VA | 2,708 | $141K | 2.8% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 177 | Lannon WI | 2,057 | $84K | 1.4% | 1.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 178 | West Point WI | 2,066 | $140K | 2.2% | 1.4% | 3% | A+ |
| 179 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 180 | Choctaw Lake OH | 1,985 | $142K | 5.5% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Point, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
Work in the towns next to West Point
The biggest share goes to Prairie du Sac (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Point workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Point | – | A+ | B− | 29 min | $139,632 |
| Merrimac | under 2% | A− | C− | 29 min | $109,375 |
| Prairie du Sac | under 2% | A− | D | 22 min | $110,905 |
| Merrimac | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Roxbury | under 2% | A+ | D | 28 min | $132,188 |
| Lodi | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Prairie du Sac | 4% | A | B | 24 min | $101,049 |
| Caledonia | under 2% | B− | C | 26 min | $98,182 |
| Dane | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Dekorra | under 2% | A | D | 31 min | $122,222 |
Same-state neighbors only. Merrimac, Lodi and Dane: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Point’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 Point: questions
What is the median household income in West Point?
$139,632 (±$29,474) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Point?
2.2%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Point?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Point work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (28%, 20 mi), Lodi (10%, 6 mi), Middleton (5%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Point walkable?
West Point is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Point without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Point, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Point
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.