Photo: 123dieinafire · Public domainWith 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Ham Lake works elsewhere
Ham Lake has 3,883 jobs for 8,356 working residents. For jobs and income Ham Lake is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). Measured by household income, Ham Lake is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ham Lake and work: the main findings
Ham Lake makes and builds things
49% of the jobs based in Ham Lake are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Ham Lake residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
Ham Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 46 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.
The four measures behind Ham Lake’s grade
Household income is its strongest input ($120,135, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ham Lake could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Making and building: 49% of jobs based in Ham Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ham Lake, 2013 → 2023: 3,010 → 3,883. 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 Ham Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes to work from Ham Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ham Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,699 commuters (the 17% 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.
Who works in Ham Lake, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 7,892 residents head out to work, 464 work right here, and 3,419 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Ham Lake on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer 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.
12% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where Ham Lake clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
6% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ham Lake
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.
Ham Lake is a driving town
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,065 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). 2.0% of Ham Lake households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ham Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ham Lake next to U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000: 220th of 1,999 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | West Manchester Township PA | 19,365 | $89K | 4.1% | 1.1% | 13% | A |
| 219 | Castle Pines CO | 15,583 | $191K | 6.9% | 2.6% | 4% | A |
| 220 | Ham Lake MN | 17,104 | $120K | 4.0% | 3.4% | 6% | A |
| 221 | Rolesville NC | 12,839 | $150K | 1.1% | 3.7% | 3% | A |
| 222 | Norfolk MA | 12,096 | $201K | 2.2% | 4.6% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Ham Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Ham Lake and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Blaine (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ham Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ham Lake | – | A | C− | 29 min | $120,135 |
| Columbus | under 3% | A+ | C | 29 min | $123,194 |
| Andover | under 3% | A+ | C | 25 min | $137,593 |
| Blaine | 9% | A− | B | 25 min | $106,801 |
| East Bethel | under 3% | A | C− | 32 min | $110,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ham Lake’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 Ham Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Ham Lake?
$120,135 (±$7,922) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ham Lake?
4.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ham Lake?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ham Lake work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (12%, 20 mi), Blaine (9%, 6 mi), St. Paul (6%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ham Lake walkable?
Ham Lake is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ham Lake without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ham Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ham Lake
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.