Work & commute · Eau Claire

Work & commute in Eau Claire, WI

50% of Eau Claire’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Union (5%), Chippewa Falls (5%) and Altoona (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

50%

14,875 of 29,460 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,585 Eau Claire residents head out of town to work, 14,875 work right here, and 29,600 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Eau Claire.

14,585live here, work elsewhere

14,875live and work here

29,600work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Eau Claire goes to work

Eau Claire (in town)right here

50%14,875

Union5.2 mi away

5%1,579

Chippewa Falls9.6 mi away

5%1,532

Altoona3 mi away

4%1,320

Menomonie20.9 mi away

4%1,135

Lake Hallie5.9 mi away

2%662

Washington7 mi away

2%552

La Crosse69.9 mi away

1%416

Marshfield65.8 mi away

1%294

Madison157.6 mi away

1%288

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%6,807

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

How far

How far Eau Claire commutes

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

68%

11%

18%

68%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Eau Claire is a job hub

1.51jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Eau Claire are

44,475 jobs are based in Eau Claire. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Eau Claire’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Eau Claire

44,475 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Eau Claire residents hold

29,460 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+3%

Jobs based in Eau Claire, 2013 → 2023: 43,325 → 44,475. 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.