With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Center Township works elsewhere
Hardly any work in Center Township itself; outside it, Brainerd draws the most (21%, 10 miles). 43 jobs are based in Center Township for 417 working residents. Center Township grades C for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Center Township apart on work
Center Township is a place people come home to
There are 43 jobs based in Center Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Center Township has about 680 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Center Township and Brainerd trade workers both ways
Brainerd is the top workplace for Center Township residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Center Township come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 417 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Center Township
On income, poverty and job access, Center Township is better than 34% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Center Township’s grade up (9.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (16.3%) is left out: Center Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Center Township could be anywhere from C− to B.
Who commutes out of Center Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 415 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere.
About 680 people are in Center Township on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
Commuting out of Center Township: the destinations
Where Center Township clocks in
21% 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 far Center Township goes to work
About 32% 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.
In Center Township, 81% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center Township, 2013 → 2023: 42 → 43. 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 Center Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes to work from Center Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Center Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 411 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.
Getting around Center Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Center Township is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 542 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). 3.8% of Center Township households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Center Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,563rd of 3,133: where Center Township ranks among U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Medicine Lake MN | 1,342 | $184K | 2.7% | 0.0% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Dellwood MN | 1,148 | $225K | 4.1% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Louisville Township MN | 1,361 | $143K | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,561 | Troy Grove Township IL | 1,273 | $85K | 17.7% | 4.1% | 2% | C |
| 1,562 | York Township IN | 1,144 | $71K | 8.8% | 3.8% | 2% | C |
| 1,563 | Center Township MN | 1,053 | $75K | 9.3% | 16.3% | <1% | C |
| 1,564 | Hill NH | 1,048 | $82K | 9.9% | 2.5% | 1% | C |
| 1,565 | Jefferson Township OH | 1,032 | $64K | 6.3% | 0.0% | 0% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Center Township, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Center Township
The biggest share goes to Lake Edward Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Center Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | – | C | D | 24 min | $74,554 |
| Wolford Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Irondale Township | under 2% | B− | C | 29 min | $86,591 |
| Oak Lawn Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 21 min | $85,417 |
| Mission Township | under 2% | — | — | 40 min | — |
| Lake Edward Township | 6% | B− | C | 21 min | $82,292 |
Same-state neighbors only. Wolford Township and Mission Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Center Township’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 Center Township: questions
What is the median household income in Center Township?
$74,554 (±$12,717) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center Township?
9.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Center Township work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brainerd (21%, 10 mi), Baxter (12%, 13 mi), Lake Edward Township (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Center Township walkable?
Center Township is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Center Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Center Township
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.