Photo: Iulus Ascanius at English Wikipedia · Public domainNorth St. Paul has lower unemployment (2.7%) than 75% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis. Jobs and income earn North St. Paul A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. Only 5% work in North St. Paul itself; outside it, St. Paul draws the most (20%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: North St. Paul in brief
North St. Paul and St. Paul trade workers both ways
St. Paul is the top workplace for North St. Paul residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in North St. Paul come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
North St. Paul has added jobs fast
Jobs based in North St. Paul went from 2,805 in 2014 to 4,110 in 2024, +47%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How North St. Paul earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North St. Paul is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #124 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds North St. Paul’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North St. Paul could be anywhere from B to A.
Where North St. Paul goes to work
Where North St. Paul clocks in
20% of workers
13% of workers
5% 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 North St. Paul: 4,110 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North St. Paul, 2014 → 2024: 2,805 → 4,110. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs North St. Paul’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of North St. Paul
On a workday 5,807 residents head out to work, 280 work right here, and 3,830 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in North St. Paul on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.68 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 2024, primary jobs.
About 22 minutes to work from North St. Paul
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North St. Paul workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,662 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from North St. Paul
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: North St. Paul
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North St. Paul is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #64 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% 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 6,483 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 40% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 8.0% of North St. Paul households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of North St. Paul’s commuters take a bus or train.
North St. Paul is 782nd of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 780 | Chester Township OH | 9,995 | $111K | 7.7% | 4.3% | 8% | A− |
| 781 | Corona de Tucson AZ | 9,566 | $133K | 2.6% | 4.6% | 1% | A− |
| 782 | North St. Paul MN | 12,780 | $85K | 11.2% | 2.7% | 5% | A− |
| 783 | Lake Grove NY | 11,168 | $118K | 8.1% | 5.2% | 3% | A− |
| 784 | Belmont NC | 16,415 | $95K | 7.9% | 4.0% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 St. Paul, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around North St. Paul: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North St. Paul workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North St. Paul | – | A− | A− | 22 min | $84,797 |
| Maplewood | 5% | B+ | A− | 22 min | $91,394 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Maplewood. Darker towns draw more of North St. Paul’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 2024, 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 St. Paul: questions
What is the median household income in North St. Paul?
$84,797 (±$8,984) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North St. Paul?
11.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North St. Paul?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North St. Paul work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (20%, 7 mi), Minneapolis (13%, 14 mi), Maplewood (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is North St. Paul walkable?
North St. Paul is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North St. Paul without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 40% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North St. Paul, from the people who make the trip.
More of North St. Paul
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.