Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0There are 3.3 jobs in Golden Valley for every working resident, and 33,634 people commute in
Employers in Golden Valley report 34,535 jobs, against 10,521 working residents. Golden Valley grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Measured by household income, Golden Valley is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Golden Valley apart on work
Golden Valley fills up on a workday
Golden Valley has 34,535 jobs, 3.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 45,000 people are in town, more than double the 21,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Golden Valley works one town over
37% of working residents work in a town that borders Golden Valley: Minneapolis (27%), St. Louis Park (5%) and Plymouth (5%). Next door ↓
Most Golden Valley residents work close to home
72% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Golden Valley
30% of Golden Valley workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
77% of Golden Valley’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 84% of the jobs based in Golden Valley. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Golden Valley’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Golden Valley is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #116 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds Golden Valley’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Golden Valley could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Golden Valley by day and by night
On a workday 9,620 residents head out to work and 901 work right here.
About 45,000 people are in Golden Valley on a workday afternoon, 113% more than live here.
3.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The commute from Golden Valley, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Minnesota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Golden Valley workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,934 commuters (the 30% 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.
84% of the jobs in Golden Valley pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Golden Valley, 2014 → 2024: 34,804 → 34,535. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Golden Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Golden Valley live
Where Golden Valley clocks in
27% of workers
5% 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.
In Golden Valley, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Golden Valley is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #30 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.3% 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 11,255 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 95% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 9.2% of Golden Valley households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Golden Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Golden Valley is 630th among 1,787 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 628 | Belchertown MA | 15,265 | $108K | 8.5% | 2.4% | 12% | A− |
| 629 | Eastern Goleta Valley CA | 28,295 | $146K | 7.9% | 3.9% | 9% | A− |
| 630 | Golden Valley MN | 21,325 | $109K | 9.1% | 4.6% | 9% | A− |
| 631 | Hercules CA | 26,326 | $129K | 5.6% | 6.4% | 5% | A− |
| 632 | Middleton WI | 23,115 | $90K | 7.6% | 3.0% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Golden Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
The towns next door employ 37% of Golden Valley
The biggest share goes to Minneapolis (27%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Golden Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Valley | – | A− | A | 20 min | $108,772 |
| St. Louis Park | 5% | A | A | 20 min | $101,648 |
| Minneapolis | 27% | B− | A+ | 22 min | $80,846 |
| Crystal | under 3% | A | A | 21 min | $92,513 |
| Robbinsdale | under 3% | B | A | 20 min | $88,252 |
| Plymouth | 5% | A+ | A− | 22 min | $136,534 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Golden Valley’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 2024, 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 Golden Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Golden Valley?
$108,772 (±$11,468) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Golden Valley?
9.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Golden Valley?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Golden Valley work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (27%, 5 mi), Plymouth (5%, 6 mi), St. Paul (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Golden Valley walkable?
Golden Valley is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Golden Valley without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Golden Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Golden Valley
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.