Photo: Moncrief at en.wikipedia · Public domainAt 2.1%, unemployment in Hawley is lower than in 83% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Hawley is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Hawley are A− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in seven stay in Hawley for work; outside it, Fargo is the main destination (29%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Hawley
A lot of Hawley workers cross into North Dakota
39% of Hawley workers work outside Minnesota, most of them in North Dakota, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
29% of Hawley works in Fargo
270 working residents, 29%, have their main job in Fargo, ND, 24 miles away. That’s twice as many as work in Hawley itself. The commute map ↓
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; with 920 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Hawley’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hawley is better than 81% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Hawley’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 42% of U.S. towns). 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, Hawley could be anywhere from B to A.
The towns that employ Hawley’s residents
Where Hawley clocks in
29% of workers
12% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Hawley
On a workday 802 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 729 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 (0.92 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.
31% of the jobs in Hawley make or build things
847 jobs are based in Hawley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hawley, 2013 → 2023: 708 → 847. 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 Hawley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Hawley: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hawley workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 917 commuters (the 15% 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.
The distance from Hawley to work
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.
In Hawley, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hawley is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 1,081 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). 4.2% of Hawley households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Hawley’s commuters take a bus or train.
692nd of 5,328: where Hawley ranks among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 690 | Rice Lake WI | 2,897 | $88K | 2.8% | 0.4% | 1% | A− |
| 691 | Sorrento LA | 1,622 | $118K | 8.5% | 3.2% | 1% | A− |
| 692 | Hawley MN | 2,285 | $99K | 4.6% | 2.1% | 13% | A− |
| 693 | Cornwall-on-Hudson NY | 2,990 | $140K | 3.6% | 5.5% | 5% | A− |
| 694 | Union Township IN | 1,877 | $89K | 6.6% | 2.9% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Hawley, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
The towns around Hawley
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hawley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawley | – | A− | B− | 25 min | $99,188 |
| Hawley Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Eglon Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Hawley Township and Eglon Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hawley’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 Hawley: questions
What is the median household income in Hawley?
$99,188 (±$18,297) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hawley?
4.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hawley?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hawley work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fargo (29%, 24 mi), Moorhead (12%, 20 mi), Ulen (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hawley walkable?
Hawley is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hawley without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hawley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hawley
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.