Work & commute · Wausau

Work & commute in Wausau, WI

Most working residents leave Wausau for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Wausau (38%), Weston (8%) and Schofield (7%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42 of 1,113 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,071 Wausau residents head out of town to work, 42 work right here, and 208 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wausau.

1,071live here, work elsewhere

42live and work here

208work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wausau goes to work

Wausau5.2 mi away

38%420

Weston6.8 mi away

8%91

Schofield6.4 mi away

7%75

Wausau (in town)right here

4%42

Rothschild8.8 mi away

3%32

Rib Mountain9.3 mi away

2%27

Merrill15.1 mi away

2%26

Marshfield38 mi away

2%26

Mosinee15.3 mi away

2%20

Madison131.6 mi away

2%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%335

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

How far

How far Wausau commutes

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

62%

11%

19%

62%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wausau is a commuter town

0.22jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wausau are

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

Jobs based in Wausau

250 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)44%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Wausau residents hold

1,113 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month63%

−29%

Jobs based in Wausau, 2013 → 2023: 352 → 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.