Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Chaska’s household incomes are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 5.8% of residents, next to 9.3% for Minnesota as a whole. Chaska grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in seven stay in Chaska for work; outside it, Eden Prairie is the main destination (11%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Chaska
Chaska makes and builds things
50% of the jobs based in Chaska are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Chaska residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Chaska pay over $40,000 a year
77% of the jobs based in Chaska pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
The four measures behind Chaska’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chaska is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #68 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, 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, Chaska could be anywhere from A− to A+.
In Chaska, 50% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
11,940 jobs are based in Chaska.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chaska, 2013 → 2023: 9,643 → 11,940. 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 Chaska’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 12,445 residents head out to work, 1,834 work right here, and 10,106 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 (0.84 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.
Commuting out of Chaska: the destinations
Where Chaska clocks in
11% 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.
About 23 minutes each way, about the MN average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chaska workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,878 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.
How far Chaska’s workers travel
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 Chaska start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chaska is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #154 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 16,105 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 6% 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 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 6.5% of Chaska households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Chaska’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Chaska is 220th among 1,415 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 41,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Mililani Town HI | 27,668 | $127K | 3.2% | 3.7% | 2% | A |
| 219 | Pacifica CA | 36,890 | $161K | 5.8% | 3.9% | 8% | A |
| 220 | Chaska MN | 30,513 | $111K | 5.8% | 3.2% | 13% | A |
| 221 | Grand Island NY | 21,587 | $116K | 4.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| 222 | Bethlehem NY | 35,684 | $124K | 5.0% | 3.0% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,415 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Chaska, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Chaska: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Chanhassen (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chaska workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaska | – | A | B | 23 min | $110,956 |
| Chanhassen | 8% | A+ | B | 22 min | $143,651 |
| Laketown Township | under 3% | A+ | B+ | 22 min | $150,083 |
| Jackson Township | under 3% | B− | C+ | 25 min | $68,884 |
| Victoria | under 3% | A+ | A− | 35 min | $195,639 |
| Carver | under 3% | A | C | 31 min | $147,697 |
| Dahlgren Township | under 3% | A− | B | 22 min | $85,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chaska’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 Chaska: questions
What is the median household income in Chaska?
$110,956 (±$7,159) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chaska?
5.8%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chaska?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chaska work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eden Prairie (11%, 8 mi), Minneapolis (10%, 20 mi), Chanhassen (8%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chaska walkable?
Chaska is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chaska without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chaska, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chaska
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.