Grand Army of the Republic Hall · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Litchfield earn less than those in 81% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Litchfield are C for jobs and income and B for walkability. Poverty touches 15.1% of residents, next to 9.3% for Minnesota as a whole. Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, where Minnesota as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Litchfield in brief
Few Litchfield workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Litchfield has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Litchfield went from 2,772 in 2013 to 4,106 in 2023, +48%. The jobs ↓
Litchfield makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Litchfield are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Litchfield residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 36%. 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.
Where Litchfield’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Litchfield is better than 31% of U.S. towns, #236 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment holds Litchfield’s grade up (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($54,875, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Litchfield could be anywhere from C− to B−.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Minnesota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Litchfield workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,092 commuters (the 3% 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.
36% of the jobs in Litchfield make or build things
4,106 jobs are based in Litchfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Litchfield, 2013 → 2023: 2,772 → 4,106. 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 Litchfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Litchfield by day and by night
On a workday 2,005 residents head out to work, 1,312 work right here, and 2,794 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,300 people are in Litchfield on a workday afternoon, 12% 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.
6% of working residents work in Willmar
Where Litchfield clocks in
6% of workers
4% 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 many miles Litchfield commutes
About 21% 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.
Litchfield is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Litchfield is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #168 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 3,179 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). 8.1% of Litchfield households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Litchfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Litchfield is 2,379th of 3,218 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,800
| # | 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 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,377 | Clyde OH | 6,361 | $51K | 11.3% | 4.9% | 23% | C |
| 2,378 | Ephraim UT | 6,393 | $67K | 17.3% | 10.5% | 30% | C |
| 2,379 | Litchfield MN | 6,528 | $55K | 15.1% | 2.9% | 40% | C |
| 2,380 | Brookings OR | 6,431 | $75K | 16.9% | 3.3% | 36% | C |
| 2,381 | Cumberland Township PA | 6,066 | $64K | 19.9% | 2.8% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,218 | 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 Litchfield, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Litchfield: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Litchfield Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Litchfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litchfield | – | C | B | 20 min | $54,875 |
| Litchfield Township | 5% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Darwin Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Litchfield Township and Darwin Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Litchfield’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 Litchfield: questions
What is the median household income in Litchfield?
$54,875 (±$4,754) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Litchfield?
15.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Litchfield?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Litchfield work?
40% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Willmar (6%, 26 mi), Litchfield Township (5%, 3 mi), Dassel (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Litchfield walkable?
Litchfield is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Litchfield without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Litchfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Litchfield
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.