Crystal has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
3,426 jobs are based in Crystal for 11,958 working residents. Crystal grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Crystal: the gist
Most Crystal residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Crystal and Minneapolis trade workers both ways
Minneapolis is the top workplace for Crystal residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Crystal come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Crystal is a place people come home to
There are 3,426 jobs based in Crystal, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Crystal has about 14,000 people in it, 38% fewer than live here. 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.
What’s behind Crystal’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Crystal is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #88 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.2%, U.S. 12.5%). 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, Crystal could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The distance from Crystal to work
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.
19% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where Crystal clocks in
19% of workers
5% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Crystal
On a workday 11,676 residents head out to work, 282 work right here, and 3,144 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Crystal on a workday afternoon, 38% 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.
What Crystal’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Crystal, 2013 → 2023: 3,531 → 3,426. 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 Crystal’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Crystal spends getting to work: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Crystal workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,826 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.
Crystal is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Crystal is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #21 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.8% 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 12,488 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 94% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 74% 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). 7.0% of Crystal households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Crystal’s commuters take a bus or train.
Crystal is 349th of 1,658 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 347 | Fairfax VA | 26,772 | $132K | 9.1% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| 348 | Chelsea AL | 17,716 | $115K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| 349 | Crystal MN | 22,239 | $93K | 8.2% | 2.4% | 2% | A |
| 350 | Bruno Township KS | 19,221 | $103K | 5.3% | 2.8% | 10% | A |
| 351 | Clayton MO | 17,807 | $123K | 8.0% | 3.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Crystal, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Crystal
The biggest share goes to Golden Valley (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Crystal workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal | – | A | A | 21 min | $92,513 |
| New Hope | under 4% | B | A− | 19 min | $77,662 |
| Robbinsdale | under 4% | B | A | 20 min | $88,252 |
| Brooklyn Center | under 4% | B− | A | 22 min | $72,535 |
| Golden Valley | 5% | A− | A | 20 min | $108,772 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Crystal’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 Crystal: questions
What is the median household income in Crystal?
$92,513 (±$7,073) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Crystal?
8.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Crystal?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Crystal work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (19%, 7 mi), Plymouth (7%, 5 mi), St. Paul (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Crystal walkable?
Crystal is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Crystal without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Crystal, from the people who make the trip.
More of Crystal
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.