Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Montrose has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Montrose report 309 jobs, against 1,991 working residents. Montrose grades B+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. 9% of workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Montrose, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Montrose than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Montrose fell from 637 in 2013 to 309 in 2023, −51%. 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 ↓
Montrose workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Montrose is a place people come home to
There are 309 jobs based in Montrose, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Montrose has about 2,300 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
What’s behind Montrose’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montrose is better than 72% of U.S. towns, #142 of 273 in Minnesota. Household income holds Montrose’s grade up ($102,625, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (5.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Montrose could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Montrose works in goods: 32% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montrose, 2013 → 2023: 637 → 309. 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 Montrose’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Montrose: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montrose workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,782 commuters (the 9% 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.
Montrose by day and by night
On a workday 1,966 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 284 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Montrose on a workday afternoon, 42% 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.
10% of working residents work in Buffalo
Where Montrose clocks in
7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Montrose
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.
Montrose is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Montrose is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns, #246 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Montrose near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,950 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). 4.5% of Montrose households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Montrose’s commuters take a bus or train.
Montrose places 1,178th of 4,177 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,176 | Masonville KY | 2,887 | $83K | 11.1% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,177 | Mountain Home NC | 3,437 | $83K | 11.9% | 0.7% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,178 | Montrose MN | 3,986 | $103K | 5.3% | 5.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,179 | Adams Township IN | 4,097 | $83K | 5.9% | 3.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,180 | Eden Township IN | 5,006 | $91K | 2.9% | 4.5% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | 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 Montrose, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Montrose compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montrose workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montrose | – | B+ | C− | 33 min | $102,625 |
| Marysville Township | under 3% | B | C | 31 min | $97,679 |
| Woodland Township | under 3% | A− | B | 34 min | $96,563 |
| Waverly | under 3% | A− | C+ | 37 min | $112,222 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Montrose’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 Montrose: questions
What is the median household income in Montrose?
$102,625 (±$15,452) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montrose?
5.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montrose?
33 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montrose work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (10%, 8 mi), Minneapolis (7%, 33 mi), Delano (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Montrose walkable?
Montrose is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Montrose without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Montrose, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montrose
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.