Photo: Public domain · Public domainWith 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Lafayette works elsewhere
There are 86 jobs in Lafayette, against 253 working residents. Only 1% stay in Lafayette for work; outside it, New Ulm is the main destination (36%, 10 miles). Home is the office for 5% of workers (Minnesota 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Lafayette apart on work
The places Lafayette commutes to
Where Lafayette clocks in
36% of workers
10% 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.
Lafayette by day and by night
On a workday 250 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 83 people come in from elsewhere.
About 300 people are in Lafayette on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
79% of the jobs in Lafayette pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lafayette, 2013 → 2023: 122 → 86. 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 Lafayette’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lafayette’s commute takes about 24 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 Lafayette workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 271 commuters (the 5% 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.
Lafayette’s commute, mile by mile
About 17% 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.
Lafayette and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Lafayette Township (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lafayette workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | – | — | — | 24 min | $88,750 |
| Lafayette Township | 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lafayette Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lafayette’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 Lafayette: questions
What is the median household income in Lafayette?
$88,750 (±$23,908) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lafayette?
3.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lafayette?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lafayette work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New Ulm (36%, 10 mi), Mankato (10%, 28 mi), Courtland (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lafayette without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lafayette, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lafayette
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.