Work & commute · Worcester

Work & commute in Worcester, WI

Most working residents leave Worcester for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Phillips (30%), Park Falls (8%) and Prentice (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29 of 655 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 626 Worcester residents head out of town to work, 29 work right here, and 279 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Worcester.

626live here, work elsewhere

29live and work here

279work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Worcester goes to work

Phillips5.5 mi away

30%198

Park Falls15.1 mi away

8%51

Worcester (in town)right here

4%29

Prentice13.6 mi away

4%25

Medford41.7 mi away

3%22

Eau Claire85.8 mi away

2%13

Rib Lake29.4 mi away

2%11

Hawkins25.1 mi away

2%10

Tomahawk34 mi away

2%10

Madison188.2 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%277

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

How far

How far Worcester commutes

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

40%

15%

13%

31%

40%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Worcester is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Worcester are

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

Jobs based in Worcester

308 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)57%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)26%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Worcester residents hold

655 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)38%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+39%

Jobs based in Worcester, 2013 → 2023: 221 → 308. 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.