Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Aitkin have lower incomes than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole. Poverty touches 22.1% of residents (Minnesota 9.3%). For jobs and income Aitkin is better than 4% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (A−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Aitkin
Aitkin is where the jobs are
Aitkin has 1,902 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 3,200 people are in town, 47% more than the 2,200 who live here. Day and night ↓
Aitkin’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Aitkin is Brainerd, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (68) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Aitkin are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 898 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Aitkin’s Jobs & income grade comes from
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Aitkin’s grade.
Unemployment (4.0%) is left out: Aitkin’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Aitkin could be anywhere from D− to D.
Who leaves Aitkin for work, and who comes in
On a workday 561 residents head out to work, 337 work right here, and 1,565 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Aitkin on a workday afternoon, 47% more than live here.
2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The commute from Aitkin, by distance
About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Commuting from Aitkin: about 14 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aitkin workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 839 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where Aitkin’s workers come from
Where Aitkin clocks in
8% of workers
5% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What the 1,902 jobs in Aitkin are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aitkin, 2013 → 2023: 2,482 → 1,902. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Aitkin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Aitkin
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 8.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 898 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.4% of Aitkin households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Aitkin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Aitkin sits among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Tonka Bay MN | 1,561 | $156K | 3.5% | 9.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Stillwater Township MN | 1,831 | $162K | 3.4% | 3.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Wrens GA | 2,100 | $38K | 26.1% | 17.4% | 13% | D− |
| 5,084 | Crisfield MD | 2,555 | $50K | 20.5% | 15.0% | 19% | D− |
| 5,085 | Aitkin MN | 2,155 | $48K | 22.1% | 4.0% | 38% | D− |
| 5,086 | Moorhead MS | 1,754 | $35K | 25.6% | 20.1% | 2% | D− |
| 5,087 | Bryson City NC | 1,525 | $44K | 24.3% | 1.0% | 20% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Aitkin, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Aitkin compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Aitkin Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Aitkin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin | – | D− | A− | 14 min | $47,978 |
| Aitkin Township | 5% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Spencer Township | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Farm Island Township | under 2% | C− | D | 30 min | $68,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Aitkin Township and Spencer Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Aitkin’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Aitkin: questions
What is the median household income in Aitkin?
$47,978 (±$9,131) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aitkin?
22.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aitkin?
14 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aitkin work?
38% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brainerd (8%, 26 mi), Aitkin Township (5%, 3 mi), McGregor (2%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Aitkin walkable?
Aitkin is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aitkin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aitkin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Aitkin
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.