Hugo has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
For jobs and income Hugo is among the top U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (C). There are 2,839 jobs in Hugo; 8,631 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Hugo: the gist
Hugo makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Hugo are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Hugo residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 18%. The jobs ↓
Hugo empties out on a workday
About 11,000 people are in Hugo on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than the 17,000 who live here: 8,200 head out to work and 2,400 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
How Hugo earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hugo is among the top U.S. towns, #20 of 273 in Minnesota. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Hugo’s grade. It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hugo stays A+.
Hugo makes things: 47% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hugo, 2013 → 2023: 2,299 → 2,839. 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 Hugo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Hugo on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,190 residents head out to work, 441 work right here, and 2,398 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Hugo on a workday afternoon, 34% 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 St. Paul
Where Hugo clocks in
12% of workers
12% 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.
Getting to work from Hugo takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hugo workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,490 commuters (the 18% 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.
Hugo’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Most of Hugo commutes by car
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 9,121 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). 2.1% of Hugo households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Hugo’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Hugo ranks: 29th of 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Franconia VA | 18,335 | $152K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 28 | Hinsdale IL | 17,573 | $250K | 2.9% | 3.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 29 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| 30 | Nolensville TN | 15,789 | $177K | 2.1% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| 31 | East Greenwich Township NJ | 12,610 | $149K | 2.0% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Lake Elmo MN | 14,376 | $154K | 4.8% | 2.3% | 4% | 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 Hugo, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
The towns around Hugo
The biggest share goes to Forest Lake (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hugo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo | – | A+ | C | 27 min | $116,228 |
| May Township | under 3% | A+ | D | 36 min | $137,321 |
| Lino Lakes | under 3% | A | C | 25 min | $127,181 |
| Forest Lake | 2% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,944 |
| Grant | under 3% | A+ | B− | 25 min | $150,875 |
| White Bear Township | under 3% | A+ | B | 24 min | $128,963 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hugo’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 Hugo: questions
What is the median household income in Hugo?
$116,228 (±$7,673) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hugo?
2.8%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hugo?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hugo work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (12%, 16 mi), Minneapolis (12%, 20 mi), White Bear Lake (7%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hugo walkable?
Hugo is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hugo 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 Hugo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hugo
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.