Williams, Spafford, Hotel · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Caledonia (1.5%) is lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Caledonia itself; outside it, La Crosse draws the most (18%, 19 miles). For jobs and income Caledonia is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (B). The average commute takes 25 minutes each way, next to 23 for Minnesota and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Caledonia: the figures worth knowing
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Caledonia
Unemployment holds Caledonia’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Caledonia could be anywhere from C to A−.
The towns that employ Caledonia’s residents
Where Caledonia clocks in
18% 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.
In and out of Caledonia on a workday
On a workday 947 residents head out to work, 503 work right here, and 1,138 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 (1.13 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.
Inside Caledonia’s 1,641 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Caledonia, 2013 → 2023: 1,909 → 1,641. 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 Caledonia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Caledonia spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Caledonia workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,470 commuters (the 12% 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 Caledonia
About 16% 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.
For most of Caledonia, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 1,670 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.0% of Caledonia households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Caledonia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Caledonia is 1,661st of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,659 | Mill Bay AK | 3,654 | $89K | 9.0% | 0.0% | — | B |
| 1,660 | Holiday Shores IL | 2,782 | $87K | 4.1% | 7.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,661 | Caledonia MN | 2,768 | $76K | 8.9% | 1.5% | 35% | B |
| 1,662 | Spring Grove PA | 2,520 | $77K | 9.6% | 4.0% | 5% | B |
| 1,663 | Pen Argyl PA | 3,468 | $76K | 15.7% | 1.7% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Caledonia, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
The towns around Caledonia
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Caledonia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caledonia | – | B | B | 25 min | $76,477 |
| Caledonia Township | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Mayville Township | under 1% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Caledonia Township and Mayville Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Caledonia’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 Caledonia: questions
What is the median household income in Caledonia?
$76,477 (±$17,277) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Caledonia?
8.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Caledonia?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Caledonia work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are La Crosse (18%, 19 mi), La Crescent (7%, 17 mi), Spring Grove (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Caledonia walkable?
Caledonia is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Caledonia without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Caledonia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Caledonia
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.