Photo: Michel Curi · CC BY 2.0Unemployment in Luverne (2.5%) is lower than in 77% of U.S. towns
About two in five work in Luverne; the top destination outside it is Sioux Falls (15%, 27 miles). For jobs and income Luverne is better than 49% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (B). 10% of workers have no commute at all (Minnesota 18%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Luverne in brief
Luverne’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Luverne is Sioux Falls, SD, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (377) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Luverne are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How Luverne earns its Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Luverne’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($64,366, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Luverne could be anywhere from C to B+.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Luverne
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.
How long Luverne spends getting to work: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Luverne workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,279 commuters (the 10% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Luverne
On a workday 1,528 residents head out to work, 969 work right here, and 1,511 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 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.
Commuting out of Luverne: the destinations
Where Luverne clocks in
3% 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.
What work there is in Luverne: 2,480 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Luverne, 2013 → 2023: 2,341 → 2,480. 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 Luverne’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Luverne gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 2,544 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). 9.5% of Luverne households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Luverne’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700, Luverne ranks 2,046th of 3,692 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 20 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,044 | Silvercreek Township OH | 3,839 | $69K | 9.9% | 4.4% | 11% | B− |
| 2,045 | Lower Grand Lagoon FL | 4,287 | $74K | 15.3% | 2.5% | 9% | B− |
| 2,046 | Luverne MN | 4,984 | $64K | 12.2% | 2.5% | 39% | B− |
| 2,047 | Maiden NC | 3,922 | $76K | 19.7% | 2.6% | 7% | B− |
| 2,048 | Shenandoah TX | 3,833 | $62K | 10.9% | 5.7% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | 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 Luverne, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Luverne
The biggest share goes to Luverne Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Luverne workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luverne | – | B− | B | 16 min | $64,366 |
| Luverne Township | 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Mound Township | under 1% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Luverne Township and Mound Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Luverne’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 Luverne: questions
What is the median household income in Luverne?
$64,366 (±$6,277) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Luverne?
12.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Luverne?
16 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Luverne work?
39% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sioux Falls (15%, 27 mi), Worthington (3%, 31 mi), Marshall (3%, 59 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Luverne walkable?
Luverne is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Luverne without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Luverne, from the people who make the trip.
More of Luverne
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.