George H. Haven House · Photo: Jonathunder · CC BY-SA 3.0For about half of its working residents, Chatfield is a commute to Rochester
Jobs and income earn Chatfield A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 0.6 in Rochester. About one in ten work in Chatfield; the top destination outside it is Rochester (50%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Chatfield, in brief
More than half of Chatfield works in Rochester
754 working residents, 50%, have their main job in Rochester, 19 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Chatfield itself. The commute map ↓
Chatfield makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Chatfield are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Chatfield residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Chatfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chatfield is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #117 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment holds Chatfield’s grade up (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chatfield could be anywhere from B to A.
Out of Chatfield to work: where people go
Where Chatfield clocks in
50% of workers
3% 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.
A place that makes things: 35% of Chatfield’s jobs are in goods
1,031 jobs are based in Chatfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chatfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,209 → 1,031. 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 Chatfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Chatfield, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,373 residents head out to work, 146 work right here, and 885 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Chatfield on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
About 22 minutes each way, about the MN average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chatfield workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,257 commuters (the 11% 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 it is to work from Chatfield
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Chatfield
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chatfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #68 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% 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 1,415 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% 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 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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 Chatfield households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Chatfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100, Chatfield ranks 853rd of 4,771 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 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 851 | Sloatsburg NY | 3,120 | $108K | 5.4% | 6.3% | 10% | A− |
| 852 | Mountville PA | 2,977 | $97K | 8.7% | 3.3% | 2% | A− |
| 853 | Chatfield MN | 3,018 | $96K | 5.3% | 2.0% | 10% | A− |
| 854 | Proctor MN | 3,054 | $67K | 5.8% | 0.7% | 6% | A− |
| 855 | Dundee OR | 3,193 | $107K | 3.3% | 4.2% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Chatfield, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Chatfield: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chatfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatfield | – | A− | A− | 22 min | $96,078 |
| Chatfield Township | under 1% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Elmira Township | under 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Orion Township | under 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Chatfield Township, Elmira Township and Orion Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chatfield’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 Chatfield: questions
What is the median household income in Chatfield?
$96,078 (±$11,424) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chatfield?
5.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chatfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chatfield work?
10% work in town.
Is Chatfield walkable?
Chatfield is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chatfield 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 Chatfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chatfield
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.