Work & commute · Watertown

Work & commute in Watertown, WI

About one in 4 of Watertown’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Madison (6%), Oconomowoc (5%) and Milwaukee (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

2,881 of 11,092 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 8,211 Watertown residents head out of town to work, 2,881 work right here, and 5,323 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watertown.

8,211live here, work elsewhere

2,881live and work here

5,323work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watertown goes to work

Watertown (in town)right here

26%2,881

Madison36 mi away

6%717

Oconomowoc13.3 mi away

5%563

Milwaukee39.4 mi away

3%317

Ixonia6.6 mi away

3%280

Johnson Creek7.9 mi away

2%269

Waukesha27.4 mi away

2%218

Jefferson13.4 mi away

2%212

Fort Atkinson20.1 mi away

2%186

Janesville37.7 mi away

1%159

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%5,290

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

How far

How far Watertown commutes

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

34%

24%

30%

11%

34%Under 10 mi

24%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watertown is a commuter town

0.74jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Watertown are

8,204 jobs are based in Watertown. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Watertown’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Watertown

8,204 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Watertown residents hold

11,092 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

−5%

Jobs based in Watertown, 2013 → 2023: 8,594 → 8,204. 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.