Byron’s household incomes are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 4.2% of residents, next to 9.3% across Minnesota. The two grades for Byron are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Only 8% work in Byron itself; outside it, Rochester draws the most (66%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Byron apart
More than half of Byron works in Rochester
2,385 working residents, 66%, have their main job in Rochester, 8.2 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Byron itself. The commute map ↓
Most Byron residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Byron has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Byron went from 990 in 2013 to 1,493 in 2023, +51%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Byron
74% of Byron residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 56% of the jobs based in Byron pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Byron makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Byron are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Byron residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 12%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Byron gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Byron is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #114 of 273 in Minnesota. Household income holds Byron’s grade up ($124,010, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Byron could be anywhere from B to A+.
Where Byron goes to work
Where Byron clocks in
66% of workers
2% 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.
How many miles Byron 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.
Making and building: 36% of jobs based in Byron
1,493 jobs are based in Byron.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Byron, 2013 → 2023: 990 → 1,493. 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 Byron’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Byron quiets down on a workday
On a workday 3,345 residents head out to work, 272 work right here, and 1,221 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Byron on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
Each way, about 18 minutes from Byron
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Byron workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,716 commuters (the 20% 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.
Few in Byron walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Byron is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #118 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 3,410 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 87% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 33% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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 Byron households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Byron’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,700 to 9,100, Byron ranks 791st of 3,253 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Albertville MN | 8,544 | $133K | 1.1% | 0.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Credit River MN | 5,644 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 789 | Jersey Village TX | 7,729 | $80K | 6.1% | 4.0% | 3% | A− |
| 790 | Howard Township OH | 6,206 | $105K | 4.5% | 0.9% | 5% | A− |
| 791 | Byron MN | 6,740 | $124K | 4.2% | 4.4% | 8% | A− |
| 792 | Los Ranchos de Albuquerque NM | 5,790 | $73K | 8.8% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| 793 | Montebello NY | 4,828 | $134K | 11.2% | 4.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,253 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Byron, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Byron and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Kalmar Township (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Byron workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron | – | A− | B+ | 18 min | $124,010 |
| Kalmar Township | 1% | A | D | 22 min | $160,764 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Byron’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 Byron: questions
What is the median household income in Byron?
$124,010 (±$18,165) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Byron?
4.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Byron?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Byron work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (66%, 8 mi), Minneapolis (2%, 71 mi), Pine Island (2%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Byron walkable?
Byron is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Byron without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 33% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Byron, from the people who make the trip.
More of Byron
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.