Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Cottage Grove has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Household incomes here are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns. There are 10,552 jobs in Cottage Grove; 20,886 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Cottage Grove is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (B−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Cottage Grove
Cottage Grove has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Cottage Grove went from 5,407 in 2013 to 10,552 in 2023, +95%. The jobs ↓
Cottage Grove and St. Paul trade workers both ways
St. Paul is the top workplace for Cottage Grove residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Cottage Grove come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Cottage Grove makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Cottage Grove are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Cottage Grove residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. 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.
Inside Cottage Grove’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, 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, Cottage Grove could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Cottage Grove makes things: 38% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cottage Grove, 2013 → 2023: 5,407 → 10,552. 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 Cottage Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
16% of working residents work in St. Paul
Where Cottage Grove clocks in
16% of workers
10% of workers
6% 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.
Cottage Grove by day and by night
On a workday 18,504 residents head out to work, 2,382 work right here, and 8,170 people come in from elsewhere.
About 33,000 people are in Cottage Grove on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
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 24 minutes each way for Cottage Grove’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cottage Grove workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,227 commuters (the 21% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Cottage Grove
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.
Getting around Cottage Grove: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 21,842 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 3.8% of Cottage Grove households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Cottage Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Cottage Grove is 110th of 985 U.S. towns of 31,000 to 59,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Rosemount MN | 31,881 | $130K | 3.0% | 3.5% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Minnetonka MN | 53,969 | $120K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Prairieville LA | 35,238 | $105K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 7% | A |
| 109 | Olive Branch MS | 47,563 | $101K | 4.6% | 2.4% | 19% | A |
| 110 | Cottage Grove MN | 43,604 | $121K | 4.2% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 111 | Mount Laurel Township NJ | 47,738 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.9% | 13% | A |
| 112 | Eldersburg MD | 31,695 | $143K | 4.7% | 3.1% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 985 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Cottage Grove, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Cottage Grove
The biggest share goes to Woodbury (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cottage Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Grove | – | A | B− | 24 min | $120,791 |
| Grey Cloud Island Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Nininger Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| St. Paul Park | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 21 min | $100,642 |
| Denmark Township | under 2% | A+ | B− | 28 min | $148,269 |
| Rosemount | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $129,625 |
| Woodbury | 6% | A | B+ | 24 min | $125,310 |
| Inver Grove Heights | 2% | A | A | 22 min | $101,316 |
Same-state neighbors only. Grey Cloud Island Township and Nininger Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cottage Grove’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 Cottage Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Cottage Grove?
$120,791 (±$6,247) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cottage Grove?
4.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cottage Grove?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cottage Grove work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (16%, 13 mi), Minneapolis (10%, 20 mi), Woodbury (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cottage Grove walkable?
Cottage Grove is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cottage Grove without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cottage Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cottage Grove
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.