Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Isanti has lower unemployment (1.1%) than 94% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 28 minutes (Minnesota 23, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Isanti A; getting around on foot earns it B+. Only 7% stay in Isanti for work; outside it, Cambridge is the main destination (11%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Isanti in brief
The quickest commute around
Isanti’s 28-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 31 to 32 minutes. Next door ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Isanti
65% of Isanti residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 44% of the jobs based in Isanti pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Isanti has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Isanti went from 971 in 2013 to 1,354 in 2023, +39%. The jobs ↓
Isanti workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Isanti are held by workers 29 or younger, against 25% of Isanti’s own working residents. 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.
What’s behind Isanti’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Isanti is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #82 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($87,500, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Isanti could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
A place that makes things: 29% of Isanti’s jobs are in goods
1,354 jobs are based in Isanti.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Isanti, 2013 → 2023: 971 → 1,354. 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 Isanti’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 28 minutes each way for Isanti’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Isanti workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,589 commuters (the 13% 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.
Isanti by day and by night
On a workday 3,327 residents head out to work, 260 work right here, and 1,094 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Isanti on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.38 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.
Where Isanti goes to work
Where Isanti clocks in
11% of workers
7% 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.
How far it is to work from Isanti
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 Isanti, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Isanti is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #129 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Isanti near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,135 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). 1.0% of Isanti households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Isanti’s commuters take a bus or train.
Isanti places 466th of 3,051 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Albertville MN | 8,544 | $133K | 1.1% | 0.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Credit River MN | 5,644 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Corcoran MN | 9,269 | $133K | 3.6% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 464 | Bow NH | 8,415 | $173K | 2.7% | 3.7% | 9% | A |
| 465 | Cave Springs AR | 6,701 | $146K | 1.8% | 4.8% | 2% | A |
| 466 | Isanti MN | 7,714 | $88K | 5.2% | 1.1% | 7% | A |
| 467 | Porter Township IN | 9,699 | $123K | 4.6% | 2.7% | 3% | A |
| 468 | Richfield Township OH | 6,414 | $112K | 5.8% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,051 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Isanti, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Isanti
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Isanti workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isanti | – | A | B+ | 28 min | $87,500 |
| Isanti Township | under 3% | A− | C− | 32 min | $98,341 |
| Bradford Township | under 3% | B− | C | 31 min | $92,574 |
| Athens Township | under 3% | A− | C− | 31 min | $87,917 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Isanti’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 Isanti: questions
What is the median household income in Isanti?
$87,500 (±$19,536) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Isanti?
5.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Isanti?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Isanti work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cambridge (11%, 5 mi), Minneapolis (7%, 36 mi), Blaine (5%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Isanti walkable?
Isanti is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Isanti without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Isanti, from the people who make the trip.
More of Isanti
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.