Making a living in Wood River
Only 7% work in Wood River itself; outside it, Grantsburg draws the most (23%, 4 miles). The average commute takes 23 minutes each way; Wisconsin averages 22, the U.S. 26. There are 319 jobs in Wood River, and 362 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Wood River in brief
Wood River makes and builds things
85% of the jobs based in Wood River are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Wood River residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 33%. The jobs ↓
The quickest commute around
Wood River’s 23-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 29 to 43 minutes. Next door ↓
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; with 362 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Factories, building and farms: 85% of the jobs in Wood River
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wood River, 2014 → 2024: 250 → 319. 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 Wood River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Wood River, and who commutes in
On a workday 337 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 294 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 (0.88 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.
The towns that employ Wood River’s residents
Where Wood River clocks in
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.
How long Wood River spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wood River workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 365 commuters (the 12% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Wood River
About 26% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Work in the towns next to Wood River
The biggest share goes to Trade Lake (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wood River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood River | – | — | — | 23 min | $82,857 |
| Grantsburg | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Daniels | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Trade Lake | 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| West Marshland | under 2% | — | — | 41 min | — |
| West Sweden | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Anderson | under 2% | — | — | 43 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Grantsburg: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Daniels, Trade Lake, West Marshland, West Sweden and Anderson: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wood River’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 Wood River: questions
What is the median household income in Wood River?
$82,857 (±$6,277) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wood River?
8.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wood River?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wood River work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grantsburg (23%, 4 mi), Siren (4%, 10 mi), St. Croix Falls (4%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Wood River 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 Wood River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wood River
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.