Photo: Darb02 · CC BY-SA 4.0Austin has lower household incomes than 61% of U.S. towns
Austin grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 12.5% of residents live below the poverty line; Minnesota has 9.3%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Austin at work: what stands out
Most jobs in Austin go to people who live here
Of the 11,801 jobs based in Austin, 56% are held by Austin residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Austin’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Austin is Rochester, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (932) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Austin are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 38 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.
Income, poverty and work: Austin’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Austin is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #225 of 273 in Minnesota. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Austin’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Austin could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Austin by day and by night
On a workday 5,002 residents head out to work, 6,579 work right here, and 5,222 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).
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 distance from Austin to work
About 18% 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.
Time on the road from Austin: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Austin workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,358 commuters (the 5% 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.
8% of working residents work in Rochester
Where Austin clocks in
8% 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.
Austin works in goods: 33% of its jobs
11,801 jobs are based in Austin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Austin, 2013 → 2023: 13,287 → 11,801. 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 Austin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Austin
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Austin is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #88 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Austin near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,999 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 10% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.3% of Austin households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Austin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000, Austin ranks 1,154th of 1,477 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,152 | Carolina Forest SC | 26,263 | $74K | 13.0% | 6.5% | 8% | C+ |
| 1,153 | Norristown PA | 35,911 | $67K | 18.5% | 7.2% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,154 | Austin MN | 26,689 | $68K | 12.5% | 4.5% | 57% | C+ |
| 1,155 | Bowling Green OH | 31,182 | $45K | 28.6% | 5.7% | 34% | C+ |
| 1,156 | Lennox CA | 19,449 | $58K | 16.4% | 6.6% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Austin, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Austin and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Austin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | – | C+ | A− | 18 min | $68,057 |
| Lansing Township | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Austin Township | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Mapleview | under 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Windom Township | under 1% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Red Rock Township | under 1% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lansing Township, Austin Township, Mapleview, Windom Township and Red Rock Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Austin’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 Austin: questions
What is the median household income in Austin?
$68,057 (±$5,458) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Austin?
12.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Austin?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Austin work?
57% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (8%, 34 mi), Albert Lea (5%, 19 mi), Owatonna (2%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Austin walkable?
Austin is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Austin without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Austin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Austin
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.