Photo: Wdfarmer at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Blaine top those of 82% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 7.2% of residents, against 9.3% across Minnesota. For jobs and income Blaine is better than 84% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). About one in ten work in Blaine; the top destination outside it is Minneapolis (17%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Blaine, in brief
Where Blaine’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blaine could be anywhere from A− to A.
Commuting out of Blaine: the destinations
Where Blaine clocks in
17% 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.
Blaine by day and by night
On a workday 32,244 residents head out to work, 3,401 work right here, and 18,977 people come in from elsewhere.
About 63,000 people are in Blaine on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
The 22,378 jobs based in Blaine
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blaine, 2013 → 2023: 24,496 → 22,378. 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 Blaine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 25 minutes in Blaine
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blaine workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29,418 commuters (the 21% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Blaine
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.
In Blaine, the car does most of the work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Minnesota.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 37,060 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 44% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% 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). 2.4% of Blaine households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Blaine’s commuters take a bus or train.
Blaine places 128th of 568 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 54,000 to 103,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Maple Grove MN | 73,893 | $133K | 4.0% | 3.5% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | San Clemente CA | 62,226 | $140K | 5.8% | 4.6% | 18% | A− |
| 127 | Encinitas CA | 60,736 | $162K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 15% | A− |
| 128 | Blaine MN | 76,603 | $107K | 7.2% | 4.2% | 10% | A− |
| 129 | St. John Township IN | 72,006 | $103K | 5.9% | 4.2% | 16% | A− |
| 130 | Colonie NY | 86,837 | $102K | 7.3% | 3.2% | 25% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 568 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Blaine, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Blaine compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Coon Rapids (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blaine workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine | – | A− | B | 25 min | $106,801 |
| Lexington | under 3% | B+ | A− | 21 min | $75,347 |
| Coon Rapids | 4% | B+ | A− | 23 min | $88,251 |
| Circle Pines | under 3% | A | B | 22 min | $101,800 |
| Spring Lake Park | under 3% | A− | A | 21 min | $90,753 |
| Lino Lakes | under 3% | A | C | 25 min | $127,181 |
| Ham Lake | under 3% | A | C− | 29 min | $120,135 |
| Mounds View | under 3% | A− | A− | 23 min | $90,009 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Blaine’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 Blaine: questions
What is the median household income in Blaine?
$106,801 (±$4,215) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blaine?
7.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blaine?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blaine work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (17%, 15 mi), St. Paul (7%, 16 mi), Fridley (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blaine walkable?
Blaine is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blaine without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blaine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blaine
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.