Household incomes in Dayton are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
3.0% of residents live below the poverty line, where Minnesota as a whole has 9.3%. Jobs and income earn Dayton A+; getting around on foot earns it C−. Only 2% work in Dayton; the top destination outside it is Minneapolis (16%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Dayton
Dayton makes and builds things
46% of the jobs based in Dayton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Dayton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
Dayton is a place people come home to
There are 1,465 jobs based in Dayton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dayton has about 7,800 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Three in four Dayton workers earn over $40,000 a year
77% of Dayton’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Dayton has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Dayton went from 1,070 in 2013 to 1,465 in 2023, +37%. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Dayton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dayton is among the top U.S. towns, #17 of 273 in Minnesota. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Dayton’s grade. 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, Dayton could be anywhere from A to A+.
Goods jobs make up 46% of work in Dayton
1,465 jobs are based in Dayton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 1,070 → 1,465. 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 Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Dayton, and who commutes in
On a workday 4,933 residents head out to work, 96 work right here, and 1,369 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,800 people are in Dayton on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.29 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.
Commuting out of Dayton: the destinations
Where Dayton clocks in
16% of workers
9% 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.
Getting to work from Dayton takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dayton workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,058 commuters (the 23% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Dayton
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.
Dayton is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dayton is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns, #258 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Dayton near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,256 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). 4.2% of Dayton households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Dayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Dayton next to U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000: 36th of 2,507 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Albertville MN | 8,544 | $133K | 1.1% | 0.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 12 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Wakefield VA | 11,930 | $238K | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 35 | Tyrone GA | 8,091 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 36 | Dayton MN | 11,402 | $149K | 3.0% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 37 | Corcoran MN | 9,269 | $133K | 3.6% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 38 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Dayton, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Dayton’s workers
The biggest share goes to Maple Grove (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dayton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | – | A+ | C− | 27 min | $148,947 |
| Ramsey | under 3% | A | B− | 28 min | $116,415 |
| Otsego | under 3% | A+ | C− | 30 min | $119,927 |
| Rogers | 3% | A+ | B− | 25 min | $158,750 |
| Champlin | under 3% | A | A− | 25 min | $116,102 |
| Anoka | under 3% | B+ | A− | 25 min | $75,948 |
| Maple Grove | 9% | A+ | B | 24 min | $132,731 |
| Elk River | under 3% | A+ | B− | 27 min | $108,741 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dayton’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 Dayton: questions
What is the median household income in Dayton?
$148,947 (±$16,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dayton?
3.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dayton?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dayton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (16%, 18 mi), Maple Grove (9%, 5 mi), Brooklyn Park (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dayton walkable?
Dayton is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dayton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dayton
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.