Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Fairmont are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Fairmont is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (A−). Poverty touches 15.3% of residents, against 9.3% across Minnesota. 7% of workers work from home; Minnesota has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Fairmont: the gist
Commutes from Fairmont are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Fairmont go to people who live here
Of the 5,126 jobs based in Fairmont, 45% are held by Fairmont residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. 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.
Jobs & income in Fairmont: the grade in detail
Unemployment holds Fairmont’s grade up (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($53,084, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairmont could be anywhere from D to C+.
Commuting from Fairmont: about 13 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairmont workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,450 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.
How a workday changes Fairmont
On a workday 2,097 residents head out to work, 2,332 work right here, and 2,794 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 (1.16 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.
Where Fairmont goes to work
Where Fairmont clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
What the 5,126 jobs in Fairmont are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairmont, 2013 → 2023: 4,920 → 5,126. 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 Fairmont’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Fairmont goes to work
About 22% 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.
Fairmont is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,770 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). 15.5% of Fairmont households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fairmont’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Fairmont is 2,292nd among 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,290 | Nanakuli HI | 12,383 | $87K | 18.2% | 11.2% | 2% | C |
| 2,291 | Arkansas City KS | 11,800 | $50K | 17.2% | 2.8% | 33% | C |
| 2,292 | Fairmont MN | 10,099 | $53K | 15.3% | 3.1% | 53% | C |
| 2,293 | Prairie View TX | 8,969 | $21K | 38.1% | 21.9% | 6% | C |
| 2,294 | Penn Forest Township PA | 10,434 | $67K | 10.6% | 9.0% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Fairmont, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Fairmont compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Rolling Green Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairmont workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmont | – | C | A− | 13 min | $53,084 |
| Rolling Green Township | 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Fairmont Township | under 2% | — | — | 12 min | — |
| Rutland Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Fraser Township | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rolling Green Township, Fairmont Township, Rutland Township and Fraser Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairmont’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 Fairmont: questions
What is the median household income in Fairmont?
$53,084 (±$3,861) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairmont?
15.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairmont?
13 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairmont work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marshall (4%, 86 mi), Blue Earth (3%, 18 mi), Mankato (3%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairmont walkable?
Fairmont is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairmont without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairmont, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairmont
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.