At 2.8%, unemployment in Maple Lake is lower than in 73% of U.S. towns
For 6% of workers, the job is at home, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole. The two grades for Maple Lake are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven stay in Maple Lake for work; outside it, Buffalo is the main destination (11%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Maple Lake, in a few figures
Maple Lake makes and builds things
57% of the jobs based in Maple Lake are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Maple Lake residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 29%. The jobs ↓
Maple Lake is the work center of its corner
Every town that borders Maple Lake (Maple Lake Township, Albion Township and Corinna Township) has fewer jobs than working residents, while Maple Lake has 1.5 per resident. Next door ↓
Maple Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical 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 the Jobs & income grade adds up in Maple Lake
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Maple Lake is better than 82% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 58% of U.S. towns). 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, Maple Lake could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Factories, building and farms: 57% of the jobs in Maple Lake
1,698 jobs are based in Maple Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Maple Lake, 2013 → 2023: 1,399 → 1,698. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Maple Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Maple Lake: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Maple Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,101 commuters (the 6% 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.
How a workday changes Maple Lake
On a workday 976 residents head out to work, 135 work right here, and 1,563 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Maple Lake on a workday afternoon, 26% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The daily trip into Maple Lake
Where Maple Lake clocks in
5% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Maple Lake
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.
The commute in Maple Lake is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Maple Lake is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 7.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,177 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). 1.5% of Maple Lake households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Maple Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Maple Lake is 622nd among 5,102 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000
| # | 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% | 3% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Stillwater Township MN | 1,831 | $162K | 3.4% | 3.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 620 | Bertrand Township MI | 2,587 | $101K | 6.0% | 2.9% | 5% | A− |
| 621 | Perry Township PA | 2,524 | $95K | 4.8% | 3.3% | 5% | A− |
| 622 | Maple Lake MN | 2,216 | $94K | 4.4% | 2.8% | 12% | A− |
| 623 | Angelica WI | 1,880 | $96K | 4.3% | 2.7% | 1% | A− |
| 624 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Maple Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Maple Lake
The biggest share goes to Maple Lake Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Maple Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple Lake | – | A− | B+ | 31 min | $93,750 |
| Maple Lake Township | 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Albion Township | under 2% | B | C | 32 min | $101,420 |
| Corinna Township | under 2% | A− | C | 30 min | $87,635 |
Same-state neighbors only. Maple Lake Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Maple Lake’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 Maple Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Maple Lake?
$93,750 (±$20,900) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Maple Lake?
4.4%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Maple Lake?
31 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Maple Lake work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (11%, 8 mi), St. Cloud (5%, 22 mi), Monticello (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Maple Lake walkable?
Maple Lake is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Maple Lake without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Maple Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Maple Lake
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.