Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Carver top those of 95% of U.S. towns
2.5% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 9.3% for Minnesota as a whole. Carver grades A for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 3% work in Carver; the top destination outside it is Eden Prairie (12%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Carver, in a few figures
The better-paid jobs are outside Carver
75% of Carver residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 37% of the jobs based in Carver pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Carver pay little
34% of the jobs based in Carver pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 31% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Carver workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (22 to 25 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Carver is a place people come home to
There are 728 jobs based in Carver, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Carver has about 4,900 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. 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.
Why Carver gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carver is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #49 of 273 in Minnesota. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carver could be anywhere from A− to A+.
What Carver’s employers do
728 jobs are based in Carver.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carver, 2013 → 2023: 199 → 728. 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 Carver’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Carver: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carver workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,506 commuters (the 24% 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 a workday changes Carver
On a workday 2,887 residents head out to work, 100 work right here, and 628 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,900 people are in Carver on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.24 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 towns that employ Carver’s residents
Where Carver clocks in
12% of workers
10% of workers
8% 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 Carver 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.
Most trips from Carver start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carver is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns, #236 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Carver 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 3,302 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 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 3.4% of Carver households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Carver’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700, Carver ranks 242nd of 3,205 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 240 | Milliken CO | 9,183 | $108K | 2.4% | 0.5% | 2% | A |
| 241 | Prospect CT | 9,638 | $126K | 3.2% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| 242 | Carver MN | 7,198 | $148K | 2.5% | 3.7% | 3% | A |
| 243 | Weldon Spring MO | 5,301 | $159K | 0.7% | 4.2% | 2% | A |
| 244 | Orting WA | 8,884 | $133K | 2.4% | 2.8% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | 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 Carver, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
10% of Carver works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carver workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carver | – | A | C | 31 min | $147,697 |
| Dahlgren Township | under 4% | A− | B | 22 min | $85,000 |
| Louisville Township | under 4% | A+ | C− | 24 min | $143,125 |
| Chaska | 10% | A | B | 23 min | $110,956 |
| San Francisco Township | under 4% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. San Francisco Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Chaska. Darker towns draw more of Carver’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 Carver: questions
What is the median household income in Carver?
$147,697 (±$27,258) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carver?
2.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carver?
31 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carver work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eden Prairie (12%, 10 mi), Chaska (10%, 4 mi), Minneapolis (8%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Carver walkable?
Carver is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carver without a car?
1% 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 Carver, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carver
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.