Work & commute · Chelsea

Work & commute in Chelsea, WI

Most working residents leave Chelsea for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Medford (26%), Marathon City (3%) and Rib Lake (3%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

5 of 306 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 301 Chelsea residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chelsea.

301live here, work elsewhere

5live and work here

25work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chelsea goes to work

Medford8.6 mi away

26%79

Marathon City32.9 mi away

3%9

Rib Lake8.3 mi away

3%8

Wausau40 mi away

3%8

McKinley25.3 mi away

3%8

Little Black13 mi away

2%7

Ladysmith38.9 mi away

2%6

Eau Claire63.6 mi away

2%6

Grover14.7 mi away

2%6

Gilman23.1 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%164

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Chelsea commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

31%

19%

24%

26%

31%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chelsea is a commuter town

0.10jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.10 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Chelsea are

30 jobs are based in Chelsea. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chelsea’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chelsea

30 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities43%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Chelsea residents hold

306 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)39%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+3%

Jobs based in Chelsea, 2013 → 2023: 29 → 30. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.