Lonsdale Public School · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Lonsdale works elsewhere
Jobs and income earn Lonsdale A; getting around on foot earns it B−. Employers in Lonsdale report 683 jobs, and 2,759 of its residents work somewhere. Only 7% work in Lonsdale itself; outside it, Northfield draws the most (7%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Lonsdale: the gist
Jobs in Lonsdale have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Lonsdale went from 301 in 2013 to 683 in 2023, +127%. The jobs ↓
Lonsdale workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Lonsdale’s commute
The biggest draw, Northfield, gets only 7% of working residents, and 52% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Lonsdale residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lonsdale
72% of Lonsdale residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Lonsdale pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. 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.
The four measures behind Lonsdale’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lonsdale is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #50 of 273 in Minnesota. The poverty rate is its strongest input (1.3%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($95,176, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lonsdale could be anywhere from A− to A+.
What Lonsdale’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lonsdale, 2013 → 2023: 301 → 683. 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 Lonsdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 32 minutes in Lonsdale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lonsdale workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,088 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.
Commuting out of Lonsdale: the destinations
Where Lonsdale clocks in
6% 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.
A workday in Lonsdale: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,567 residents head out to work, 192 work right here, and 491 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,000 people are in Lonsdale on a workday afternoon, 41% 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.
Half of Lonsdale commutes less than 22 miles
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.
Driving is how Lonsdale gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lonsdale is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #191 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 2,404 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 Lonsdale households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Lonsdale’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lonsdale ranks: 250th of 3,627 U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 19 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 248 | Hellam Township PA | 6,007 | $95K | 4.4% | 0.4% | 5% | A |
| 249 | Pleasant Hills MD | 3,836 | $166K | 2.1% | 3.6% | 5% | A |
| 250 | Lonsdale MN | 5,117 | $95K | 1.3% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| 251 | Flower Hill NY | 4,860 | $250K | 2.9% | 5.0% | 3% | A |
| 252 | Stanhope NJ | 3,614 | $139K | 2.9% | 3.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lonsdale, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Lonsdale and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lonsdale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lonsdale | – | A | B− | 32 min | $95,176 |
| Wheatland Township | under 4% | A− | C | 25 min | $114,375 |
| Webster Township | under 4% | A | C− | 27 min | $119,671 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lonsdale’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 Lonsdale: questions
What is the median household income in Lonsdale?
$95,176 (±$10,313) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lonsdale?
1.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lonsdale?
32 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lonsdale work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Northfield (7%, 13 mi), Lakeville (6%, 16 mi), Burnsville (6%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lonsdale walkable?
Lonsdale is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lonsdale 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 Lonsdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lonsdale
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.