Howard Lake City Hall · Photo: William Wesen Appraiser · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Howard Lake are higher than in 70% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Howard Lake is better than 54% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (C). 10.3% of residents are in poverty, where Minnesota as a whole has 9.3%. About one in seven stay in Howard Lake for work; outside it, Buffalo is the main destination (6%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Howard Lake at work: what stands out
Howard Lake makes and builds things
58% of the jobs based in Howard Lake are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Howard Lake residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 33%. The jobs ↓
Howard Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Howard Lake has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Howard Lake went from 825 in 2013 to 1,325 in 2023, +61%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Jobs & income in Howard Lake: the grade in detail
Household income holds Howard Lake’s grade up ($92,188, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.4%) is left out: Howard Lake’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Howard Lake could be anywhere from C to B+.
58% of the jobs in Howard Lake make or build things
1,325 jobs are based in Howard Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Howard Lake, 2013 → 2023: 825 → 1,325. 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 Howard Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Howard Lake: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Howard Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 694 commuters (the 20% 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 daily flow of workers through Howard Lake
On a workday 928 residents head out to work, 139 work right here, and 1,186 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Howard Lake on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 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.
Where Howard Lake goes to work
Where Howard Lake clocks in
6% 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.
The distance from Howard Lake 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.
Driving is how Howard Lake gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 868 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.3% of Howard Lake households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Howard Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Howard Lake is 2,075th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,073 | Rockvale TN | 1,611 | $86K | 14.7% | 4.4% | <1% | B− |
| 2,074 | Tipton IA | 3,060 | $61K | 12.3% | 1.0% | 27% | B− |
| 2,075 | Howard Lake MN | 2,288 | $92K | 10.3% | 1.4% | 13% | B− |
| 2,076 | Hopedale Township IL | 1,806 | $98K | 12.2% | 9.0% | 10% | B− |
| 2,077 | Edenville Township MI | 2,495 | $71K | 11.9% | 1.0% | <1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Howard Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Howard Lake
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Howard Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Lake | – | B− | C | 34 min | $92,188 |
| Middleville Township | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 28 min | $117,500 |
| Victor Township | under 2% | B− | D− | 28 min | $87,946 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Howard 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 Howard Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Howard Lake?
$92,188 (±$30,024) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Howard Lake?
10.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Howard Lake?
34 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Howard Lake work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (6%, 13 mi), Cokato (6%, 6 mi), Winsted (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Howard Lake walkable?
Howard Lake is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Howard Lake without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Howard Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Howard 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.