Work & commute · Sun Prairie

Work & commute in Sun Prairie, WI

Most working residents leave Sun Prairie for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Madison (45%), Middleton (3%) and Fitchburg (2%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

2,739 of 18,553 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 15,814 Sun Prairie residents head out of town to work, 2,739 work right here, and 10,580 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sun Prairie.

15,814live here, work elsewhere

2,739live and work here

10,580work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sun Prairie goes to work

Madison11.7 mi away

45%8,432

Sun Prairie (in town)right here

15%2,739

Middleton14.5 mi away

3%567

Fitchburg16.6 mi away

2%453

DeForest6.3 mi away

2%427

Milwaukee64.6 mi away

2%310

Waunakee10.3 mi away

2%293

Monona10.1 mi away

1%209

Cottage Grove6.5 mi away

1%198

Burke5 mi away

1%197

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%4,728

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

How far

How far Sun Prairie commutes

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

44%

38%

12%

44%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sun Prairie is a commuter town

0.72jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sun Prairie are

13,319 jobs are based in Sun Prairie. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sun Prairie’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sun Prairie

13,319 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Sun Prairie residents hold

18,553 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+42%

Jobs based in Sun Prairie, 2013 → 2023: 9,393 → 13,319. 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.