Charles H. Budd House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Montevideo has lower unemployment (2.3%) than 80% of U.S. towns
5% of workers have no commute at all (Minnesota 18%). Jobs and income earn Montevideo C; getting around on foot earns it B−. About two in five work in Montevideo; the top destination outside it is Willmar (9%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Montevideo, in brief
Montevideo’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Montevideo is Willmar, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (222) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Montevideo are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Montevideo than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Montevideo fell from 3,465 in 2013 to 2,593 in 2023, −25%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Why Montevideo gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montevideo is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #229 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment holds Montevideo’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (19.6%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Montevideo could be anywhere from D to B.
The distance from Montevideo to work
About 22% 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.
About 15 minutes to work from Montevideo
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montevideo workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,171 commuters (the 5% 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.
What work there is in Montevideo: 2,593 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montevideo, 2013 → 2023: 3,465 → 2,593. 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 Montevideo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Montevideo for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,475 residents head out to work, 951 work right here, and 1,642 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 (1.07 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.
Where Montevideo goes to work
Where Montevideo clocks in
9% 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.
Few in Montevideo walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Montevideo is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #186 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 2,276 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). 11.1% of Montevideo households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Montevideo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Montevideo is 2,528th of 3,651 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,200 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 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Goodland KS | 4,366 | $52K | 11.7% | 0.8% | 53% | C |
| 2,527 | Buena Vista VA | 6,672 | $58K | 18.8% | 1.4% | 22% | C |
| 2,528 | Montevideo MN | 5,335 | $69K | 19.6% | 2.3% | 39% | C |
| 2,529 | Bethel NY | 4,296 | $67K | 12.8% | 3.0% | 9% | C |
| 2,530 | Huntingdon TN | 4,462 | $52K | 20.0% | 0.6% | 32% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,651 | 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 Montevideo, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Montevideo: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Sparta Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montevideo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montevideo | – | C | B− | 15 min | $68,596 |
| Sparta Township | 6% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Stony Run Township | under 1% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sparta Township and Stony Run Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Montevideo’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 Montevideo: questions
What is the median household income in Montevideo?
$68,596 (±$13,761) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montevideo?
19.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montevideo?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montevideo work?
39% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Willmar (9%, 34 mi), Sparta Township (6%, 2 mi), Granite Falls (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Montevideo walkable?
Montevideo is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Montevideo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Montevideo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montevideo
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.