Banfill Tavern · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Fridley has 2.1 jobs for every working resident: 27,949 people commute in to work
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis. Fridley has 29,220 jobs; 13,688 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Fridley are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Fridley
Fridley is where the jobs are
Fridley has 29,220 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 46,000 people are in town, 50% more than the 31,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Fridley and Minneapolis trade workers both ways
Minneapolis is the top workplace for Fridley residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Fridley come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fridley makes and builds things
41% of the jobs based in Fridley are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fridley residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Fridley pay better than its residents’ jobs
81% of the jobs based in Fridley pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 64% of the jobs Fridley residents hold. 96% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Fridley. The jobs ↓
Most Fridley residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
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.
Fridley’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fridley is better than 55% of U.S. towns, #181 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds Fridley’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fridley could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
In and out of Fridley on a workday
On a workday 12,417 residents head out to work and 1,271 work right here.
About 46,000 people are in Fridley on a workday afternoon, 50% more than live here.
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 send workers to Fridley
Where Fridley clocks in
21% of workers
7% 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.
Fridley works in goods: 41% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fridley, 2013 → 2023: 22,947 → 29,220. 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 Fridley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Fridley
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.
Getting to work from Fridley takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fridley workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,625 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.
Fridley is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fridley is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #32 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.5% 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 14,952 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 94% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 82% 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). 7.8% of Fridley households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Fridley’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fridley is 851st of 1,334 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 849 | Pemberton Township NJ | 27,611 | $81K | 8.4% | 6.6% | 9% | B− |
| 850 | Douglasville GA | 41,523 | $79K | 10.7% | 6.0% | 8% | B− |
| 851 | Fridley MN | 30,829 | $78K | 11.9% | 6.5% | 9% | B− |
| 852 | Palm River-Clair Mel FL | 27,844 | $72K | 13.1% | 4.7% | 5% | B− |
| 853 | Balch Springs TX | 27,258 | $67K | 7.1% | 8.3% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | 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 Fridley, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door is work for 27% of Fridley
The biggest share goes to Minneapolis (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fridley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fridley | – | B− | A | 23 min | $77,680 |
| Brooklyn Park | 3% | A− | A− | 21 min | $89,891 |
| Spring Lake Park | under 3% | A− | A | 21 min | $90,753 |
| Columbia Heights | under 3% | B− | A | 24 min | $73,691 |
| Coon Rapids | 3% | B+ | A− | 23 min | $88,251 |
| Brooklyn Center | under 3% | B− | A | 22 min | $72,535 |
| Minneapolis | 21% | B− | A+ | 22 min | $80,846 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fridley’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 Fridley: questions
What is the median household income in Fridley?
$77,680 (±$5,483) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fridley?
11.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fridley?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fridley work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (21%, 8 mi), St. Paul (7%, 12 mi), Brooklyn Park (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fridley walkable?
Fridley is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fridley without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fridley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fridley
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.