Johann Schimmelpfennig Farmstead · Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Jobs and earnings in Benton Township, and the trip to work
Only 2% work in Benton Township itself; outside it, Waconia draws the most (10%, 6 miles). For 10% of workers, the job is at home, against 18% across Minnesota. Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average; the Minnesota average is 23, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Benton Township apart on work
Benton Township makes and builds things
96% of the jobs based in Benton Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Benton Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Benton Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
88% of the jobs based in Benton Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 71% of the jobs Benton Township residents hold. 98% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Benton Township. The jobs ↓
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 408 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Factories, building and farms: 96% of the jobs in Benton Township
413 jobs are based in Benton Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Benton Township, 2013 → 2023: 507 → 413. 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 Benton Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Benton Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 399 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 404 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 (1.01 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 towns that employ Benton Township’s residents
Where Benton Township clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
A commute of about 22 minutes in Benton Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Benton Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 385 commuters (the 10% 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 in the region Benton Township works
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.
How Benton Township compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Benton Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | – | — | — | 22 min | $98,281 |
| Dahlgren Township | under 3% | A− | B | 22 min | $85,000 |
| Waconia Township | under 3% | A− | C | 30 min | $122,083 |
| Young America Township | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Hancock Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Young America Township and Hancock Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Benton Township’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 Benton Township: questions
What is the median household income in Benton Township?
$98,281 (±$10,605) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Benton Township?
1.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Benton Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Benton Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waconia (10%, 6 mi), Chaska (9%, 12 mi), Eden Prairie (7%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Benton Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Benton Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Benton Township
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.