Little Canada has higher unemployment (5.9%) than 73% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis. Jobs and income earn Little Canada B; getting around on foot earns it A. Only 4% work in Little Canada; the top destination outside it is St. Paul (19%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Little Canada: the figures worth knowing
Little Canada is where the jobs are
Little Canada has 7,115 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Little Canada and St. Paul trade workers both ways
St. Paul is the top workplace for Little Canada residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Little Canada come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Little Canada draws workers from far and wide
The 7,115 jobs in Little Canada are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 34%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most Little Canada residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Most jobs in Little Canada pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Little Canada pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
How Little Canada earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Little Canada is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #176 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds Little Canada’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Little Canada could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Little Canada
On a workday 4,523 residents head out to work, 191 work right here, and 6,924 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Little Canada on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Little Canada’s workforce comes from
Where Little Canada clocks in
19% of workers
15% of workers
7% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Little Canada
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.
72% of the jobs in Little Canada pay over $3,333 a month
7,115 jobs are based in Little Canada.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Little Canada, 2014 → 2024: 7,397 → 7,115. 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 Little Canada’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Little Canada: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Little Canada workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,949 commuters (the 22% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Little Canada
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Little Canada is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #49 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.0% 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 5,085 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 74% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 9.2% of Little Canada households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Little Canada’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,496th of 2,878: where Little Canada ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Albertville MN | 8,544 | $133K | 1.1% | 0.2% | 5% | A+ |
| 12 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,494 | Rodeo CA | 8,976 | $91K | 8.4% | 10.9% | 3% | B |
| 1,495 | Erwin NY | 7,824 | $88K | 9.3% | 4.0% | 19% | B |
| 1,496 | Little Canada MN | 10,567 | $78K | 11.5% | 5.9% | 4% | B |
| 1,497 | Mabank TX | 7,294 | $55K | 5.0% | 1.9% | 15% | B |
| 1,498 | Baraboo WI | 13,224 | $70K | 8.4% | 2.9% | 23% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Little Canada, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Little Canada
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Little Canada workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Canada | – | B | A | 24 min | $77,957 |
| Maplewood | 4% | B+ | A− | 22 min | $91,394 |
| Vadnais Heights | 3% | A | B− | 23 min | $98,685 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Maplewood. Darker towns draw more of Little Canada’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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Little Canada: questions
What is the median household income in Little Canada?
$77,957 (±$8,054) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Little Canada?
11.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Little Canada?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Little Canada work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (19%, 5 mi), Minneapolis (15%, 10 mi), Roseville (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Little Canada walkable?
Little Canada is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Little Canada without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Little Canada, from the people who make the trip.
More of Little Canada
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.