For more than half of its working residents, High Forest Township is a commute to Rochester
There are 191 jobs in High Forest Township, against 475 working residents. Commuters spend 20 minutes getting to work on average, next to 23 for Minnesota and 26 for the U.S. Below the poverty line: 5.6% of residents, where Minnesota as a whole has 9.3%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: High Forest Township in brief
62% of working residents work in Rochester
Where High Forest Township clocks in
62% of workers
8% 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.
High Forest Township by day and by night
On a workday 472 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 188 people come in from elsewhere.
About 660 people are in High Forest Township on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.40 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Factories, building and farms: 38% of the jobs in High Forest Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in High Forest Township, 2013 → 2023: 139 → 191. 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 High Forest Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from High Forest Township takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of High Forest Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 343 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from High Forest Township
About 15% 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.
High Forest Township and its neighbors: 62% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | High Forest Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Forest Township | – | — | — | 20 min | $108,558 |
| Rochester | 62% | B+ | A− | 17 min | $89,389 |
| Rock Dell Township | under 1% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Racine Township | under 1% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Pleasant Valley Township | under 1% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Sumner Township | under 1% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Rochester Township | under 1% | A | C− | 54 min | $246,050 |
| Pleasant Grove Township | under 1% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rock Dell Township, Racine Township, Pleasant Valley Township, Sumner Township and Pleasant Grove Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rochester. Darker towns draw more of High Forest Township’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 High Forest Township: questions
What is the median household income in High Forest Township?
$108,558 (±$8,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in High Forest Township?
5.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from High Forest Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in High Forest Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (62%, 10 mi), Stewartville (8%, 2 mi), Byron (2%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around High Forest Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from High Forest Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of High Forest Township
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.