Photo: KAM32296 · CC BY-SA 4.0Big Lake has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Measured by household income, Big Lake is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Big Lake has 2,412 jobs, and 6,498 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Big Lake are A for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Big Lake: the gist
Big Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Big Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Big Lake is Minneapolis, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (506) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
No single place dominates Big Lake’s commute
The biggest draw, Minneapolis, gets only 8% of working residents, and 53% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Big Lake residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Big Lake empties out on a workday
About 8,800 people are in Big Lake on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than the 13,000 who live here: 6,100 head out to work and 2,000 come in. Day and night ↓
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: Big Lake’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Big Lake is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #96 of 273 in Minnesota. Household income is its strongest input ($120,549, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Big Lake could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The trip to work from Big Lake: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,458 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.
How many miles Big Lake commutes
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.
8% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where Big Lake clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
How a workday changes Big Lake
On a workday 6,070 residents head out to work, 428 work right here, and 1,984 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,800 people are in Big Lake on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
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 kinds of work in Big Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Lake, 2013 → 2023: 2,400 → 2,412. 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 Big Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Big Lake commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Lake is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #218 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Big Lake 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 7,147 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). 5.8% of Big Lake households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Big Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Big Lake is 525th of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 523 | Gig Harbor WA | 12,630 | $118K | 7.0% | 2.7% | 9% | A |
| 524 | South Lyon MI | 12,107 | $92K | 4.0% | 3.7% | 6% | A |
| 525 | Big Lake MN | 12,929 | $121K | 5.6% | 3.2% | 7% | A |
| 526 | Macedonia OH | 12,147 | $101K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 5% | A |
| 527 | San Marino CA | 11,964 | $214K | 6.7% | 5.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Big Lake, 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 Big Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Big Lake?
$120,549 (±$9,655) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Lake?
5.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Lake?
33 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Lake work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (8%, 35 mi), Elk River (7%, 9 mi), Monticello (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big Lake walkable?
Big Lake is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Lake without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Lake
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.