Philip Guettler House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Cologne’s household incomes are higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 5.2% of residents (Minnesota 9.3%). For jobs and income Cologne is better than 86% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (C−). 33% of workers work from home (Minnesota 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Cologne in brief
A lot of Cologne works from home
33% of Cologne workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Time on the road ↓
Cologne empties out on a workday
About 1,500 people are in Cologne on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 2,100 who live here: 1,000 head out to work and 390 come in. 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.
Cologne’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Household income is its strongest input ($129,398, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cologne could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Commuting from Cologne: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cologne workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 924 commuters (the 33% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Cologne
On a workday 1,044 residents head out to work, 62 work right here, and 391 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Cologne on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.41 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.
9% of working residents work in Eden Prairie
Where Cologne clocks in
9% 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.
Cologne works in goods: 30% of its jobs
453 jobs are based in Cologne.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cologne, 2013 → 2023: 209 → 453. 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 Cologne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Cologne
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.
The commute in Cologne is mostly behind the wheel
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,375 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 5.4% of Cologne households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cologne’s commuters take a bus or train.
484th of 5,404: where Cologne ranks among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Tonka Bay MN | 1,561 | $156K | 3.5% | 9.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Stillwater Township MN | 1,831 | $162K | 3.4% | 3.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 482 | North Annville Township PA | 2,324 | $84K | 3.2% | 2.0% | 3% | A |
| 483 | Moss Beach CA | 2,683 | $100K | 9.1% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| 484 | Cologne MN | 2,139 | $129K | 5.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A |
| 485 | Kingston Springs TN | 2,758 | $103K | 5.6% | 3.0% | 4% | A |
| 486 | Lostcreek Township OH | 1,669 | $97K | 1.2% | 1.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Cologne, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
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 Cologne: questions
What is the median household income in Cologne?
$129,398 (±$13,347) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cologne?
5.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cologne?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 33% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cologne work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eden Prairie (9%, 17 mi), Waconia (9%, 5 mi), Chaska (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cologne walkable?
Cologne is more walkable than 22% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cologne without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cologne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cologne
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.