Work & commute · Mercer

Work & commute in Mercer, WI

About one in 3 of Mercer’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Hurley (5%), Lac du Flambeau (5%) and Manitowish Waters (4%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

159 of 512 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 353 Mercer residents head out of town to work, 159 work right here, and 212 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Mercer.

353live here, work elsewhere

159live and work here

212work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Mercer goes to work

Mercer (in town)right here

31%159

Hurley20.6 mi away

5%28

Lac du Flambeau17.5 mi away

5%28

Manitowish Waters12.8 mi away

4%18

Minocqua25.5 mi away

3%16

Arbor Vitae24.8 mi away

3%13

Wausau85.5 mi away

2%10

Winchester13.2 mi away

2%10

Ironwood, MI20.8 mi away

2%8

Bessemer, MI19.3 mi away

2%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%214

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

How far

How far Mercer commutes

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

32%

27%

31%

32%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Mercer is a commuter town

0.72jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Mercer are

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

Jobs based in Mercer

371 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less34%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month32%

Jobs Mercer residents hold

512 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+10%

Jobs based in Mercer, 2013 → 2023: 337 → 371. 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.