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Work & commute in Rome · A commuter town

100% of Rome’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Rome for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Oconomowoc (9%), Madison (5%) and Waukesha (4%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Work in town
0%
1 of 361 working residents
Typical commute
22 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
45 min
More than WI (22 min)
Work from home
5%
Less than WI (13%)
Jobs based here
29
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Rome?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

9% of working residents work in Oconomowoc

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Sullivan: 10 residents work here (3%)PalmyraNorth PrairieDousmanMertonJefferson: 13 residents work here (4%)Fort Atkinson: 11 residents work here (3%)Oconomowoc: 31 residents work here (9%)Waukesha: 15 residents work here (4%)Summit: 10 residents work here (3%)Brookfield: 15 residents work here (4%)Madison: 19 residents work here (5%)Milwaukee: 12 residents work here (3%)JeffersonSullivanConcordIxonia: 10 residents work here (3%)RomeOconomowocMadisonWaukeshaBrookfieldJeffersonMilwaukeeRome
1
Oconomowoc11.2 mi away
9%31
2
Madison40 mi away
5%19
3
Waukesha20.5 mi away
4%15
4
Brookfield27.4 mi away
4%15
5
Jefferson8.1 mi away
4%13
6
Milwaukee34.9 mi away
3%12
7
Fort Atkinson11.5 mi away
3%11
8
Sullivan3.3 mi away
3%10
9
Summit10.1 mi away
3%10
10
Ixonia12.2 mi away
3%10
Everywhere elseother towns and states
60%215
The top trips

Where Rome clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 45 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
347 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Rome45 min
Wisconsin22 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

of Rome workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10

How Rome ranks on commute time →

Day and night

Rome quiets down on a workday

On a workday 360 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 28 people come in from elsewhere.

360live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
28work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night620
Workday290
620live here− 360head out to work+ 28come in to work= 290on a workday

About 290 people are in Rome on a workday afternoon, 54% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.08jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Rome commutes less than 22 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi45 miOconomowoc: 9% · 11.2 miMadison: 5% · 40 miWaukesha: 4% · 20.5 miBrookfield: 4% · 27.4 miJefferson: 4% · 8.1 miMilwaukee: 3% · 34.9 miFort Atkinson: 3% · 11.5 miSullivan: 3% · 3.3 miSummit: 3% · 10.1 miIxonia: 3% · 12.2 miOconomowoc 9%Madison 5%Waukesha 4%Brookfield 4%Jefferson 4%Rome
RomeTop destinations (size = commuters)
18%Under 10 mi64 residents
37%10–24 mi133 residents
37%25–50 mi132 residents
9%Over 50 mi32 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in RomeJobs Rome residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms10%32%
Trade, transport & utilities7%18%
Services: health, schools, offices83%50%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less24%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month41%19%
Over $3,333 a month34%66%

Who does it

29 or younger17%21%
30 to 5455%48%
55 and older28%30%
−3%

Jobs based in Rome, 2013 → 2023: 30 → 29. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Next door

Rome and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Rome’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Jefferson25 min
Sullivan36 min
Rome45 min
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Rome

Rome home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Rome, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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