Work & commute · Colby

Work & commute in Colby, WI

Most working residents leave Colby for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Abbotsford (21%), Medford (8%) and Marshfield (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

80 of 756 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 676 Colby residents head out of town to work, 80 work right here, and 880 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Colby.

676live here, work elsewhere

80live and work here

880work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Colby goes to work

Abbotsford2.2 mi away

21%161

Colby (in town)right here

11%80

Medford15.5 mi away

8%59

Marshfield18.5 mi away

4%32

Hull3.5 mi away

4%32

Dorchester6.3 mi away

4%31

Mayville6.6 mi away

3%24

Eau Claire58.1 mi away

2%18

Holton6.7 mi away

2%18

Curtiss6.7 mi away

2%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%285

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

How far

How far Colby commutes

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

49%

20%

23%

49%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Colby is balanced between jobs and homes

1.27jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Colby are

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

Jobs based in Colby

960 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)41%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Colby residents hold

756 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)45%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)39%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+25%

Jobs based in Colby, 2013 → 2023: 768 → 960. 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.