Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Households in North Oaks earn more than in almost any other U.S. town
5.1% of residents live below the poverty line, where Minnesota as a whole has 9.3%. Measured by household income, North Oaks is among the highest-earning towns in the country. North Oaks grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in North Oaks
A lot of North Oaks works from home
40% of North Oaks workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside North Oaks
75% of North Oaks residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 51% of the jobs based in North Oaks pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in North Oaks than ten years ago
Jobs counted in North Oaks fell from 2,243 in 2013 to 1,509 in 2023, −33%. 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 ↓
Nearly all the work in North Oaks is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
What’s behind North Oaks’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Oaks is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #59 of 273 in Minnesota. Household income is its strongest input ($231,742, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Oaks could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 26 minutes each way for North Oaks’ commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Oaks workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,121 commuters (the 39% 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.
Services make up most of the work in North Oaks
1,509 jobs are based in North Oaks.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Oaks, 2013 → 2023: 2,243 → 1,509. 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 North Oaks’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in North Oaks by day
On a workday 1,983 residents head out to work, 74 work right here, and 1,435 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in North Oaks on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.73 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
18% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where North Oaks clocks in
18% of workers
13% 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.
How far it is to work from North Oaks
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.
North Oaks is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Oaks is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #167 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 1,852 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 52% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.3% of North Oaks households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of North Oaks’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, North Oaks is 296th of 3,582 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 294 | Salem Township MI | 5,269 | $89K | 2.9% | 0.4% | 6% | A |
| 295 | Taycheedah WI | 4,690 | $106K | 3.1% | 1.1% | 3% | A |
| 296 | North Oaks MN | 5,283 | $232K | 5.1% | 4.0% | 4% | A |
| 297 | Crosby Township OH | 6,270 | $124K | 5.9% | 1.6% | 2% | A |
| 298 | Leacock Township PA | 5,672 | $83K | 2.4% | 0.3% | 24% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,582 | 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 North Oaks, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How North Oaks compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Shoreview (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Oaks workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Oaks | – | A | B | 26 min | $231,742 |
| White Bear Township | under 3% | A+ | B | 24 min | $128,963 |
| Shoreview | 3% | A | A− | 22 min | $108,370 |
| Vadnais Heights | under 3% | A | B− | 23 min | $98,685 |
| Lino Lakes | under 3% | A | C | 25 min | $127,181 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North Oaks’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 North Oaks: questions
What is the median household income in North Oaks?
$231,742 (±$40,823) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Oaks?
5.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Oaks?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 40% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Oaks work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (18%, 13 mi), St. Paul (13%, 11 mi), Roseville (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Oaks walkable?
North Oaks is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Oaks without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Oaks, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Oaks
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.