Fewer people are out of work in Dodge Center (2.3%) than in 80% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 0.6 in Rochester. Dodge Center grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers; Minnesota has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Dodge Center stands out on work
Dodge Center makes and builds things
56% of the jobs based in Dodge Center are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Dodge Center residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 27%. The jobs ↓
Dodge Center and Rochester trade workers both ways
Rochester is the top workplace for Dodge Center residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Dodge Center come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Dodge Center pay over $40,000 a year
77% of the jobs based in Dodge Center 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Dodge Center
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dodge Center is better than 83% of U.S. towns, #111 of 273 in Minnesota. The poverty rate holds Dodge Center’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dodge Center could be anywhere from B+ to A.
56% of the jobs in Dodge Center make or build things
1,771 jobs are based in Dodge Center.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dodge Center, 2013 → 2023: 1,762 → 1,771. 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 Dodge Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
33% of working residents work in Rochester
Where Dodge Center clocks in
33% of workers
4% 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 a workday changes Dodge Center
On a workday 1,119 residents head out to work, 245 work right here, and 1,526 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Dodge Center on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 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.
Time on the road from Dodge Center: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dodge Center workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,599 commuters (the 7% 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 Dodge Center
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Dodge Center
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dodge Center is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #106 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 1,712 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 2.1% of Dodge Center households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dodge Center’s commuters take a bus or train.
Dodge Center next to U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000: 638th of 4,618 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 636 | Sorgho KY | 2,960 | $122K | 8.4% | 2.0% | 1% | A− |
| 637 | Keowee Key SC | 3,351 | $125K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 7% | A− |
| 638 | Dodge Center MN | 2,951 | $94K | 3.7% | 2.3% | 18% | A− |
| 639 | Green Township OH | 3,355 | $98K | 8.4% | 0.6% | 4% | A− |
| 640 | Millville UT | 2,508 | $115K | 5.0% | 1.7% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Dodge Center, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Dodge Center
The biggest share goes to Ashland Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dodge Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge Center | – | A− | A− | 26 min | $93,884 |
| Wasioja Township | 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Ashland Township | 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wasioja Township and Ashland Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dodge Center’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 Dodge Center: questions
What is the median household income in Dodge Center?
$93,884 (±$13,917) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dodge Center?
3.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dodge Center?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dodge Center work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (33%, 19 mi), Kasson (5%, 5 mi), Owatonna (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dodge Center walkable?
Dodge Center is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dodge Center without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dodge Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dodge Center
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.