Families in Lauderdale earn more than those in 69% of U.S. towns
Not counting college students, poverty touches 5.7% of residents; Minnesota has 8.6%. For jobs and income Lauderdale is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (A+). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lauderdale at work: what stands out
Most Lauderdale residents work close to home
76% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Lauderdale and Minneapolis trade workers both ways
Minneapolis is the top workplace for Lauderdale residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Lauderdale come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Lauderdale pay better than its residents’ jobs
83% of the jobs based in Lauderdale pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 66% of the jobs Lauderdale residents hold. 98% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Lauderdale. The jobs ↓
Lauderdale makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in Lauderdale are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Lauderdale residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 10%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Lauderdale
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); family income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($108,571, U.S. $99,999). It also does well on family income and the poverty rate.
15% of Lauderdale’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (16% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 5.7%, against 7.3% for all residents. Unemployment (9.1%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($108,571), since student households pull the household median down ($78,684).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, Lauderdale could be anywhere from B to A+.
Miles to work from Lauderdale
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
33% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where Lauderdale clocks in
33% of workers
16% of workers
6% 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.
Making and building: 39% of jobs based in Lauderdale
698 jobs are based in Lauderdale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lauderdale, 2014 → 2024: 637 → 698. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lauderdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Lauderdale, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,188 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 687 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Lauderdale on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.58 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 2024, primary jobs.
A commute of about 24 minutes in Lauderdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lauderdale workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,075 commuters (the 24% 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.
Lauderdale is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,409 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 45% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 6.1% of Lauderdale households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Lauderdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lauderdale ranks: 253rd of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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% | 1% | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 251 | Honey Brook PA | 1,891 | $94K | 2.5% | 2.1% | 4% | A |
| 252 | Belvedere CA | 2,066 | $250K | 5.9% | 2.2% | 4% | A |
| 253 | Lauderdale MN | 2,328 | $79K | 7.3% | 9.1% | 1% | A |
| 254 | Union Township OH | 2,005 | $108K | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1% | A |
| 255 | Lake Camelot IL | 1,629 | $134K | 0.0% | 3.3% | 0% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Lauderdale, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Lauderdale: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Roseville (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lauderdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lauderdale | – | A | A+ | 24 min | $78,684 |
| Roseville | 6% | B+ | A | 21 min | $86,930 |
| Falcon Heights | 3% | A− | A+ | 22 min | $96,528 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lauderdale’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 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Students. 15% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Lauderdale: questions
What is the median household income in Lauderdale?
$78,684 (±$3,810) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lauderdale?
7.3% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 5.7%. Minnesota: 9.3%.
How long is the commute from Lauderdale?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lauderdale work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (33%, 4 mi), St. Paul (16%, 6 mi), Roseville (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Lauderdale walkable?
Lauderdale is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lauderdale without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 45% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lauderdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lauderdale
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.