Work & commute · Milwaukee

Work & commute in Milwaukee, WI

45% of Milwaukee’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Wauwatosa (7%), West Allis (4%) and Brookfield (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

45%

104,893 of 234,285 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 129,392 Milwaukee residents head out of town to work, 104,893 work right here, and 151,714 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Milwaukee.

129,392live here, work elsewhere

104,893live and work here

151,714work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Milwaukee goes to work

Milwaukee (in town)right here

45%104,893

Wauwatosa3.5 mi away

7%16,905

West Allis5 mi away

4%8,770

Brookfield7.6 mi away

4%8,435

Menomonee Falls10.2 mi away

3%7,011

Oak Creek13.2 mi away

2%5,296

Waukesha14.5 mi away

2%5,167

New Berlin10.4 mi away

2%4,894

Glendale4.8 mi away

2%4,573

Greenfield7.3 mi away

2%3,755

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%64,586

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

How far

How far Milwaukee commutes

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

70%

18%

70%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Milwaukee is balanced between jobs and homes

1.10jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Milwaukee are

256,607 jobs are based in Milwaukee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Milwaukee’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Milwaukee

256,607 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Milwaukee residents hold

234,285 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−1%

Jobs based in Milwaukee, 2013 → 2023: 257,958 → 256,607. 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.