Work & commute · Wausau

Work & commute in Wausau, WI

40% of Wausau’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Weston (8%), Schofield (5%) and Rib Mountain (3%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

7,323 of 18,100 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,777 Wausau residents head out of town to work, 7,323 work right here, and 22,235 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wausau.

10,777live here, work elsewhere

7,323live and work here

22,235work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wausau goes to work

Wausau (in town)right here

40%7,323

Weston6.8 mi away

8%1,413

Schofield3.6 mi away

5%975

Rib Mountain4.8 mi away

3%623

Rothschild6.2 mi away

3%477

Marathon City10.1 mi away

3%455

Stevens Point30.5 mi away

2%423

Marshfield33 mi away

2%315

Madison129.9 mi away

2%315

Merrill15.3 mi away

2%312

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%5,469

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.

64%

21%

64%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wausau is a job hub

1.63jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Wausau are

29,558 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

29,558 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Wausau residents hold

18,100 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+1%

Jobs based in Wausau, 2013 → 2023: 29,264 → 29,558. 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.