Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Cokato (3.2%) is lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
10% of workers have no commute at all (Minnesota 18%). For jobs and income Cokato is better than 39% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (A−). About one in five work in Cokato; the top destination outside it is Howard Lake (6%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Cokato
Cokato is where the jobs are
Cokato has 1,843 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A young workforce
33% of Cokato’s working residents are 29 or younger, about one in three. The jobs ↓
Cokato workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 figures behind Cokato’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Cokato’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (14.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cokato could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Who works in Cokato, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 944 residents head out to work, 254 work right here, and 1,589 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Cokato on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Cokato works in goods: 33% of its jobs
1,843 jobs are based in Cokato.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cokato, 2013 → 2023: 1,608 → 1,843. 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 Cokato’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 29 minutes from Cokato
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cokato workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,000 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where Cokato’s workers come from
Where Cokato clocks in
4% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Cokato
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.
Cokato is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,108 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). 12.9% of Cokato households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Cokato’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Cokato ranks: 2,756th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 18 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,754 | Goshen Township OH | 3,051 | $61K | 4.6% | 12.9% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,755 | Big Lake AK | 3,585 | $81K | 11.4% | 3.1% | — | C+ |
| 2,756 | Cokato MN | 2,793 | $70K | 14.4% | 3.2% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,757 | Lake Placid NY | 2,258 | $42K | 9.0% | 1.1% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,758 | Liberty PA | 2,242 | $74K | 13.3% | 8.9% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | 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 Cokato, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Cokato
The biggest share goes to Cokato Township (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cokato workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cokato | – | C+ | A− | 29 min | $70,288 |
| Cokato Township | 4% | B+ | B− | 23 min | $86,667 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cokato’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 Cokato: questions
What is the median household income in Cokato?
$70,288 (±$14,654) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cokato?
14.4%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cokato?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cokato work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Howard Lake (6%, 6 mi), Stockholm Township (4%, 4 mi), Dassel (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cokato walkable?
Cokato is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cokato without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cokato, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cokato
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.