Work & commute · Wisconsin Dells

Work & commute in Wisconsin Dells, WI

Most working residents leave Wisconsin Dells for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Lake Delton (17%), Madison (10%) and Portage (8%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

292 of 1,672 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 1,380 Wisconsin Dells residents head out of town to work, 292 work right here, and 2,737 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wisconsin Dells.

1,380live here, work elsewhere

292live and work here

2,737work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wisconsin Dells goes to work

Wisconsin Dells (in town)right here

17%292

Lake Delton3.3 mi away

17%283

Madison41.8 mi away

10%159

Portage16.7 mi away

8%138

Baraboo11.9 mi away

4%61

Reedsburg13.1 mi away

3%45

Delton5.2 mi away

2%37

Mauston18.8 mi away

2%29

Middleton39.1 mi away

1%20

Lewiston10.8 mi away

1%18

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%590

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

How far

How far Wisconsin Dells commutes

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

40%

23%

18%

19%

40%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wisconsin Dells is a job hub

1.81jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wisconsin Dells are

3,029 jobs are based in Wisconsin Dells. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wisconsin Dells’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wisconsin Dells

3,029 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Wisconsin Dells residents hold

1,672 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+20%

Jobs based in Wisconsin Dells, 2013 → 2023: 2,515 → 3,029. 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.