Work & commute · West Allis

Work & commute in West Allis, WI

Most working residents leave West Allis for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Milwaukee (29%), Wauwatosa (8%) and Brookfield (5%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

2,933 of 30,545 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 27,612 West Allis residents head out of town to work, 2,933 work right here, and 28,503 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Allis.

27,612live here, work elsewhere

2,933live and work here

28,503work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Allis goes to work

Milwaukee5 mi away

29%8,725

West Allis (in town)right here

10%2,933

Wauwatosa3.9 mi away

8%2,295

Brookfield6 mi away

5%1,507

New Berlin5.6 mi away

5%1,451

Waukesha10.9 mi away

4%1,264

Menomonee Falls11.5 mi away

3%946

Oak Creek11.1 mi away

2%720

Greenfield3.4 mi away

2%709

Pewaukee11.6 mi away

2%680

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%9,315

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

How far

How far West Allis commutes

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

69%

19%

69%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Allis is balanced between jobs and homes

1.03jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Allis are

31,436 jobs are based in West Allis. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Allis’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Allis

31,436 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs West Allis residents hold

30,545 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−8%

Jobs based in West Allis, 2013 → 2023: 34,055 → 31,436. 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.