Photo: Gnome70 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Whitefish Bay are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Whitefish Bay grades A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Below the poverty line: 3.7% of residents, where Wisconsin as a whole has 10.6%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 12.9 in Milwaukee.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Whitefish Bay at work: what stands out
A lot of Whitefish Bay works one town over
43% of working residents work in a town that borders Whitefish Bay: Milwaukee (38%) and Glendale (5%). Next door ↓
Home offices are common in Whitefish Bay
27% of Whitefish Bay workers work from home, against 13% across Wisconsin. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Whitefish Bay
75% of Whitefish Bay residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Whitefish Bay pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Most Whitefish Bay residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Many jobs in Whitefish Bay pay little
30% of the jobs based in Whitefish Bay 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Whitefish Bay’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Whitefish Bay is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #16 of 362 in Wisconsin. Household income is its strongest input ($157,109, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Whitefish Bay could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 21 minutes each way, about the WI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whitefish Bay workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,294 commuters (the 27% 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.
Most jobs in Whitefish Bay are in services
2,375 jobs are based in Whitefish Bay.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whitefish Bay, 2014 → 2024: 2,304 → 2,375. 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 Whitefish Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Whitefish Bay to work
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.
Whitefish Bay on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,416 residents head out to work, 480 work right here, and 1,895 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Whitefish Bay on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.34 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 2024, primary jobs.
38% of working residents work in Milwaukee
Where Whitefish Bay clocks in
38% of workers
8% 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.
Whitefish Bay is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Whitefish Bay is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #7 of 362 in Wisconsin. Both inputs place Whitefish Bay 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 7,221 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 71% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 2.5% of Whitefish Bay households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Whitefish Bay’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000, Whitefish Bay comes 64th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Greenville WI | 13,388 | $118K | 1.7% | 0.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | River Vale Township NJ | 10,555 | $214K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 4% | A+ |
| 63 | Jefferson Township OH | 16,039 | $131K | 3.7% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 64 | Whitefish Bay WI | 14,489 | $157K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 7% | A+ |
| 65 | Worcester Township PA | 11,191 | $185K | 3.1% | 3.0% | 5% | A+ |
| 66 | Franklin Farm VA | 18,736 | $216K | 1.5% | 3.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Verona WI | 16,821 | $120K | 1.4% | 1.6% | 22% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Waunakee WI | 16,411 | $125K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Whitefish Bay, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
43% of Whitefish Bay works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Milwaukee (38%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whitefish Bay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitefish Bay | – | A+ | A | 21 min | $157,109 |
| Glendale | 5% | B+ | A | 21 min | $78,092 |
| Shorewood | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 21 min | $86,726 |
| Milwaukee | 38% | C | A+ | 22 min | $54,234 |
| Fox Point | under 2% | A+ | A− | 26 min | $141,467 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Whitefish Bay’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 Whitefish Bay: questions
What is the median household income in Whitefish Bay?
$157,109 (±$13,116) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whitefish Bay?
3.7%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whitefish Bay?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whitefish Bay work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milwaukee (38%, 5 mi), Wauwatosa (8%, 8 mi), Glendale (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Whitefish Bay walkable?
Whitefish Bay is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Whitefish Bay without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 71% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whitefish Bay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whitefish Bay
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.