Photo: ElkRiverCommunications · CC BY-SA 4.0Elk River has lower unemployment (1.6%) than 89% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Elk River A+; getting around on foot earns it B−. About one in seven stay in Elk River for work; outside it, Minneapolis is the main destination (9%, 29 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Elk River apart
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Elk River
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Elk River is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #32 of 273 in Minnesota. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Elk River’s 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, Elk River could be anywhere from A to A+.
How many miles Elk River 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.
Who works in Elk River, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 10,769 residents head out to work, 1,985 work right here, and 8,744 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 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.
The towns that employ Elk River’s residents
Where Elk River clocks in
9% 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.
Goods, not services: 28% of the jobs in Elk River
10,729 jobs are based in Elk River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk River, 2013 → 2023: 10,420 → 10,729. 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 Elk River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Elk River’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk River workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,277 commuters (the 16% 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.
For most of Elk River, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elk River is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #185 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Elk River 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 14,581 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.5% of Elk River households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Elk River’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Elk River is 57th of 1,409 U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000
| # | 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 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Highland Park IL | 30,767 | $168K | 4.2% | 3.2% | 11% | A+ |
| 56 | Chanhassen MN | 25,748 | $144K | 2.9% | 3.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 57 | Elk River MN | 27,896 | $109K | 3.4% | 1.6% | 16% | A+ |
| 58 | Northbrook IL | 34,744 | $158K | 4.3% | 3.2% | 12% | A+ |
| 59 | Glastonbury CT | 35,503 | $157K | 3.8% | 2.9% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Elk River, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Elk River
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elk River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk River | – | A+ | B− | 27 min | $108,741 |
| Otsego | under 3% | A+ | C− | 30 min | $119,927 |
| Big Lake Township | under 3% | A | C− | 31 min | $123,077 |
| Ramsey | under 3% | A | B− | 28 min | $116,415 |
| Nowthen | under 3% | A | B | 27 min | $160,417 |
| Livonia Township | under 3% | A+ | B− | 38 min | $137,000 |
| Dayton | under 3% | A+ | C− | 27 min | $148,947 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elk River’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 Elk River: questions
What is the median household income in Elk River?
$108,741 (±$13,753) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk River?
3.4%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk River?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk River work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (9%, 29 mi), Maple Grove (4%, 16 mi), Plymouth (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elk River walkable?
Elk River is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elk River without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elk River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk River
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.