Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Arlington (0.3%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Only 7% work in Arlington; the top destination outside it is Gaylord (10%, 8 miles). Arlington grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 7% of workers have no commute at all, where Minnesota as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Arlington
Fewer jobs are based in Arlington than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Arlington fell from 953 in 2013 to 354 in 2023, −63%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Arlington
64% of Arlington residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Arlington pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Arlington workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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 974 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Arlington: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arlington is better than 60% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Arlington’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 32% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arlington could be anywhere from B− to B+.
The kinds of work in Arlington
354 jobs are based in Arlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 953 → 354. 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 Arlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes to work from Arlington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arlington workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 935 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.
Who commutes out of Arlington, and who commutes in
On a workday 901 residents head out to work, 73 work right here, and 281 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Arlington on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.36 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Where people from Arlington work
Where Arlington clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
How far Arlington goes to work
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.
Arlington is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Arlington is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 8.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 7.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,004 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). 10.6% of Arlington households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Arlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Arlington is 1,792nd of 5,552 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,200 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,790 | Cass Township PA | 1,781 | $82K | 6.8% | 6.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,791 | Moweaqua IL | 1,735 | $70K | 3.4% | 2.9% | 9% | B |
| 1,792 | Arlington MN | 2,340 | $68K | 8.6% | 0.3% | 7% | B |
| 1,793 | Charlestown Township OH | 1,772 | $62K | 10.5% | 2.4% | 2% | B |
| 1,794 | Jackson Township OH | 1,756 | $82K | 0.0% | 2.0% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,552 | 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 Arlington, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
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 Arlington: questions
What is the median household income in Arlington?
$68,073 (±$7,947) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arlington?
8.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arlington?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arlington work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gaylord (10%, 8 mi), Le Sueur (7%, 13 mi), Glencoe (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arlington walkable?
Arlington is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arlington without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Arlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Arlington
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.