Work & commute · West Salem

Work & commute in West Salem, WI

Most working residents leave West Salem for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are La Crosse (37%), Onalaska (12%) and Sparta (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

364 of 2,389 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,025 West Salem residents head out of town to work, 364 work right here, and 2,601 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Salem.

2,025live here, work elsewhere

364live and work here

2,601work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Salem goes to work

La Crosse8.5 mi away

37%891

West Salem (in town)right here

15%364

Onalaska5.8 mi away

12%288

Sparta13.9 mi away

4%85

Madison100.2 mi away

2%52

Holmen10.2 mi away

2%44

Winona, MN30.7 mi away

2%36

Eau Claire66.7 mi away

1%24

Campbell10.3 mi away

1%22

Onalaska9.3 mi away

1%20

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%563

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

How far

How far West Salem commutes

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

55%

23%

18%

55%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Salem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Salem are

2,965 jobs are based in West Salem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Salem

2,965 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs West Salem residents hold

2,389 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+6%

Jobs based in West Salem, 2013 → 2023: 2,804 → 2,965. 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.