Work & commute · Oak Creek

Work & commute in Oak Creek, WI

Most working residents leave Oak Creek for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Milwaukee (32%), Wauwatosa (5%) and Franklin (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

2,129 of 17,458 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 15,329 Oak Creek residents head out of town to work, 2,129 work right here, and 19,846 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oak Creek.

15,329live here, work elsewhere

2,129live and work here

19,846work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oak Creek goes to work

Milwaukee13.2 mi away

32%5,526

Oak Creek (in town)right here

12%2,129

Wauwatosa14.5 mi away

5%853

Franklin5.7 mi away

4%751

West Allis11.1 mi away

3%549

Brookfield16.9 mi away

3%494

Cudahy5 mi away

2%428

New Berlin13.3 mi away

2%394

Waukesha19.7 mi away

2%367

Greenfield7.8 mi away

2%366

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%5,601

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

How far

How far Oak Creek commutes

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

40%

47%

40%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oak Creek is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Oak Creek are

21,975 jobs are based in Oak Creek. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oak Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Oak Creek

21,975 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities39%

Services (health, schools, offices…)31%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Oak Creek residents hold

17,458 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+42%

Jobs based in Oak Creek, 2013 → 2023: 15,527 → 21,975. 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.