Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Monticello (2.9%) is lower than in 71% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, where Minnesota has 23 and the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Monticello is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B). About one in seven work in Monticello; the top destination outside it is Minneapolis (6%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Monticello at work: what stands out
Monticello trades workers with the towns around it
Monticello has about as many jobs (6,836) as working residents (7,564), but they are mostly different people: 6,295 residents leave for work each day while 5,567 people come in. Only 19% of the jobs in Monticello are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Monticello’s commute
The biggest draw, Minneapolis, gets only 6% of working residents, and 51% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Monticello residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
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.
Monticello’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($79,534, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Monticello could be anywhere from B to A.
A workday in Monticello: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 6,295 residents head out to work, 1,269 work right here, and 5,567 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 (0.90 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 Monticello goes to work
Where Monticello clocks in
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.
Inside Monticello’s 6,836 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monticello, 2013 → 2023: 5,231 → 6,836. 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 Monticello’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes to work from Monticello
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monticello workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,943 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.
Monticello’s commute, mile by mile
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 Monticello gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,999 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). 3.4% of Monticello households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Monticello’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,109 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000, Monticello comes 740th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 738 | Emmaus PA | 12,514 | $84K | 7.3% | 3.3% | 7% | A− |
| 739 | Rapho Township PA | 12,240 | $87K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 8% | A− |
| 740 | Monticello MN | 15,670 | $80K | 6.7% | 2.9% | 17% | A− |
| 741 | Aux Sable Township IL | 15,963 | $109K | 3.9% | 6.0% | 9% | A− |
| 742 | Aurora NY | 13,830 | $102K | 3.0% | 5.4% | 18% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Monticello, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Monticello
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monticello workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monticello | – | A− | B | 26 min | $79,534 |
| Monticello Township | under 3% | A+ | D | 30 min | $123,200 |
| Becker | under 3% | B+ | C− | 27 min | $86,094 |
| Big Lake Township | under 3% | A | C− | 31 min | $123,077 |
| Becker Township | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Becker Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monticello’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 Monticello: questions
What is the median household income in Monticello?
$79,534 (±$7,248) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monticello?
6.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monticello?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monticello work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (6%, 34 mi), Plymouth (4%, 24 mi), Buffalo (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monticello walkable?
Monticello is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monticello without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monticello, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monticello
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.