Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Hardly anyone in Nisswa is out of work
Jobs and income earn Nisswa A−; getting around on foot earns it B. Household incomes here are higher than in 77% of U.S. towns. About one in seven work in Nisswa itself; outside it, Brainerd draws the most (17%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Nisswa
Nisswa is where the jobs are
Nisswa has 1,362 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nisswa and Brainerd trade workers both ways
Brainerd is the top workplace for Nisswa residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Nisswa come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nisswa has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Nisswa went from 997 in 2013 to 1,362 in 2023, +37%. 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; with 834 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Nisswa’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nisswa is better than 79% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Nisswa’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 20% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nisswa could be anywhere from B− to A.
How many people are in Nisswa by day
On a workday 693 residents head out to work, 141 work right here, and 1,221 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Nisswa on a workday afternoon, 24% more than live here.
1.6 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.
Where the people who work in Nisswa live
Where Nisswa clocks in
17% 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.
What work there is in Nisswa: 1,362 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nisswa, 2013 → 2023: 997 → 1,362. 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 Nisswa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Nisswa: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nisswa workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 915 commuters (the 14% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Nisswa
About 29% 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.
Getting around Nisswa: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nisswa is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Nisswa 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 1,064 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). 1.1% of Nisswa households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nisswa’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Nisswa ranks: 767th of 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 765 | Jennings Township OH | 2,032 | $88K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 7% | A− |
| 766 | Elk Creek KY | 2,207 | $144K | 7.9% | 4.3% | 1% | A− |
| 767 | Nisswa MN | 2,217 | $100K | 5.0% | 0.0% | 17% | A− |
| 768 | Dublin PA | 2,436 | $88K | 10.0% | 2.5% | 3% | A− |
| 769 | Ensley Township MI | 2,723 | $76K | 3.8% | 0.8% | 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 Nisswa, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Nisswa and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Pequot Lakes (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Nisswa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nisswa | – | A− | B | 22 min | $100,000 |
| Lake Edward Township | 3% | B− | C | 21 min | $82,292 |
| Lake Shore | under 2% | B | C | 22 min | $96,563 |
| Pequot Lakes | 4% | C | B+ | 22 min | $63,699 |
| Loon Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Loon Lake Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Nisswa’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 Nisswa: questions
What is the median household income in Nisswa?
$100,000 (±$34,379) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nisswa?
5.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nisswa?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nisswa work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brainerd (17%, 11 mi), Baxter (12%, 11 mi), Pequot Lakes (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nisswa walkable?
Nisswa is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nisswa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nisswa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nisswa
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.