Households in Empire have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
1.9% of residents are in poverty (Minnesota 9.3%). Empire grades A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Hardly any stay in Empire for work; outside it, Minneapolis is the main destination (9%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Empire
Empire makes and builds things
54% of the jobs based in Empire are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Empire residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
Empire is a place people come home to
There are 310 jobs based in Empire, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Empire has about 1,800 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Empire pay over $40,000 a year
78% of the jobs based in Empire pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Empire workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How Empire earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Empire is among the top U.S. towns, #11 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment is its strongest input (0.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Empire stays A+.
Empire makes things: 54% of its jobs are in goods
310 jobs are based in Empire.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Empire, 2013 → 2023: 165 → 310. 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 Empire’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Empire by day
On a workday 1,611 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 299 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Empire on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
0.19 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.
The trip to work from Empire: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Empire workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,368 commuters (the 20% 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.
Where Empire goes to work
Where Empire clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Where in the region Empire works
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.
For most of Empire, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Empire is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns, #215 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Empire 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 1,713 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). 0.0% of Empire households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Empire’s commuters take a bus or train.
29th of 4,771: where Empire ranks among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Oak Grove VA | 2,408 | $174K | 0.6% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 28 | Navy VA | 3,839 | $239K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 4% | A+ |
| 29 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| 30 | Harding Township NJ | 3,949 | $222K | 3.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| 31 | Stepping Stone CO | 3,137 | $224K | 0.0% | 2.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Empire, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
The towns next door employ 12% of Empire
The biggest share goes to Farmington (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Empire workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire | – | A+ | C+ | 30 min | $147,700 |
| Farmington | 7% | A | C+ | 28 min | $123,673 |
| Rosemount | under 4% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $129,625 |
| Vermillion Township | under 4% | A+ | B− | 24 min | $126,118 |
| Castle Rock Township | under 4% | A+ | C− | 27 min | $132,917 |
| Coates | under 4% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Lakeville | 5% | A+ | B | 24 min | $139,041 |
Same-state neighbors only. Coates: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Empire’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 Empire: questions
What is the median household income in Empire?
$147,700 (±$19,256) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Empire?
1.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Empire?
30 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Empire work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (9%, 21 mi), Farmington (7%, 4 mi), Eagan (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Empire walkable?
Empire is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Empire without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Empire, from the people who make the trip.
More of Empire
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.