Photo: 123dieinafire · Public domainColumbus’ household incomes are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Columbus are A+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. Poverty touches 3.5% of residents, against 9.3% across Minnesota. Only 4% stay in Columbus for work; outside it, Minneapolis is the main destination (10%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Columbus: the gist
Columbus has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Columbus went from 1,132 in 2013 to 1,639 in 2023, +45%. The jobs ↓
Columbus 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 ↓
Most jobs in Columbus pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Columbus 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Columbus’ grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Columbus is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #26 of 273 in Minnesota. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Columbus’ grade. It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Columbus could be anywhere from A to A+.
Factories, building and farms: 32% of the jobs in Columbus
1,639 jobs are based in Columbus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 1,132 → 1,639. 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 Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Columbus takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,077 commuters (the 14% 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.
Who leaves Columbus for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,999 residents head out to work, 74 work right here, and 1,565 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,900 people are in Columbus on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 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.
Out of Columbus to work: where people go
Where Columbus clocks in
10% of workers
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.
How many miles Columbus commutes
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 Columbus start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns, #239 of 273 in Minnesota. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,418 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). 0.5% of Columbus households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbus’ commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,136 U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900, Columbus comes 122nd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Wenham MA | 4,952 | $195K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| 121 | Clayton WI | 5,303 | $134K | 3.2% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 122 | Columbus MN | 4,356 | $123K | 3.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| 123 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 124 | Upper Salford Township PA | 3,182 | $139K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | 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 Columbus, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Columbus and its neighbors: 11% work next door
The biggest share goes to Forest Lake (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Columbus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | – | A+ | C | 29 min | $123,194 |
| East Bethel | under 3% | A | C− | 32 min | $110,000 |
| Lino Lakes | 2% | A | C | 25 min | $127,181 |
| Forest Lake | 9% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,944 |
| Linwood Township | under 3% | A− | D | 33 min | $115,972 |
| Wyoming | under 3% | A | C+ | 29 min | $107,565 |
| Ham Lake | under 3% | A | C− | 29 min | $120,135 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Columbus’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 Columbus: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus?
$123,194 (±$19,150) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus?
3.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (10%, 22 mi), Forest Lake (9%, 7 mi), St. Paul (8%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus walkable?
Columbus is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus
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.