Work & commute · Madison

Work & commute in Madison, WI

59% of Madison’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Verona (6%), Middleton (5%) and Fitchburg (3%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

59%

73,593 of 125,231 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 51,638 Madison residents head out of town to work, 73,593 work right here, and 138,499 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Madison.

51,638live here, work elsewhere

73,593live and work here

138,499work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Madison goes to work

Madison (in town)right here

59%73,593

Verona8.7 mi away

6%8,047

Middleton4.1 mi away

5%5,881

Fitchburg7.1 mi away

3%4,380

Sun Prairie11.7 mi away

2%2,177

Milwaukee73.9 mi away

2%1,965

Monona5.4 mi away

1%1,826

Shorewood Hills1.1 mi away

1%1,465

Waunakee6.4 mi away

1%1,156

DeForest10.7 mi away

1%866

Everywhere elseother towns and states

19%23,875

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

How far

How far Madison commutes

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

75%

10%

12%

75%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Madison is a job hub

1.69jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Madison are

212,092 jobs are based in Madison. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Madison

212,092 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs Madison residents hold

125,231 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+13%

Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 186,916 → 212,092. 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.