Work & commute · Portage

Work & commute in Portage, WI

About one in 3 of Portage’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Madison (15%), Baraboo (2%) and Lake Delton (2%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

1,415 of 4,846 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,431 Portage residents head out of town to work, 1,415 work right here, and 5,835 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Portage.

3,431live here, work elsewhere

1,415live and work here

5,835work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Portage goes to work

Portage (in town)right here

29%1,415

Madison31.9 mi away

15%728

Baraboo14.8 mi away

2%118

Lake Delton16.2 mi away

2%114

Milwaukee82.5 mi away

2%86

DeForest22.9 mi away

2%75

Wisconsin Dells16.7 mi away

2%74

Janesville63.9 mi away

1%72

Sun Prairie27.8 mi away

1%64

Caledonia6.8 mi away

1%59

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%2,041

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

How far

How far Portage commutes

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

34%

16%

29%

21%

34%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

29%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Portage is balanced between jobs and homes

1.50jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.50 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Portage are

7,250 jobs are based in Portage. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Portage’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Portage

7,250 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Portage residents hold

4,846 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+2%

Jobs based in Portage, 2013 → 2023: 7,106 → 7,250. 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.