Work & commute · Plum Lake

Work & commute in Plum Lake, WI

Most working residents leave Plum Lake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Arbor Vitae (10%), Minocqua (9%) and Manitowish Waters (9%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 159 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 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 158 Plum Lake residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 146 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Plum Lake.

158live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

146work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Plum Lake goes to work

Arbor Vitae10.5 mi away

10%16

Minocqua24.2 mi away

9%15

Manitowish Waters18.2 mi away

9%15

Winchester21.7 mi away

8%13

Lac du Flambeau19 mi away

8%13

Boulder Junction9.4 mi away

6%9

Eagle River14.5 mi away

5%8

Presque Isle13.9 mi away

4%7

Beaver Dam180.9 mi away

2%3

Ashwaubenon128.5 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%57

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

How far

How far Plum Lake commutes

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

11%

56%

29%

11%Under 10 mi

56%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Plum Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

0.92jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Plum Lake are

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

Jobs based in Plum Lake

147 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities45%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less34%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month29%

Jobs Plum Lake residents hold

159 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month43%

+30%

Jobs based in Plum Lake, 2013 → 2023: 113 → 147. 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.