Heins Block · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Olivia are lower than in 69% of U.S. towns
13.3% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.3% across Minnesota. Olivia grades C for jobs and income and A for walkability. Home is the office for 7% of workers, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Olivia, in brief
Olivia trades workers with the towns around it
Olivia has about as many jobs (1,219) as working residents (1,050), but they are mostly different people: 733 residents leave for work each day while 902 people come in. Only 26% of the jobs in Olivia are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Olivia’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Olivia is Willmar, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (104) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Olivia are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind Olivia’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Olivia is better than 32% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Olivia’s grade up (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Olivia could be anywhere from D to B−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Olivia
On a workday 733 residents head out to work, 317 work right here, and 902 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 (1.16 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.
Half of Olivia commutes less than 14 miles
About 21% 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.
How long Olivia spends getting to work: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Olivia workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 969 commuters (the 7% 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.
10% of working residents work in Willmar
Where Olivia clocks in
10% 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 Olivia: 1,219 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Olivia, 2013 → 2023: 1,244 → 1,219. 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 Olivia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Olivia is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Olivia is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Olivia 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 1,038 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). 11.4% of Olivia households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Olivia’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Olivia ranks: 3,303rd of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,301 | Hartsgrove Township OH | 1,621 | $103K | 39.6% | 0.0% | <1% | C |
| 3,302 | Vernon Township OH | 1,884 | $67K | 8.9% | 23.6% | 1% | C |
| 3,303 | Olivia MN | 2,288 | $63K | 13.3% | 3.1% | 30% | C |
| 3,304 | Granite Falls MN | 2,691 | $59K | 7.7% | 4.7% | 29% | C |
| 3,305 | Burlington Township IN | 1,690 | $87K | 14.7% | 1.5% | 3% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | 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 Olivia, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Olivia: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Troy Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Olivia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivia | – | C | A | 18 min | $63,098 |
| Bird Island Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Troy Township | 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bird Island Township and Troy Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Olivia’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 Olivia: questions
What is the median household income in Olivia?
$63,098 (±$8,723) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Olivia?
13.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Olivia?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Olivia work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Willmar (10%, 24 mi), Emmet Township (5%, 9 mi), Bird Island (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Olivia walkable?
Olivia is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Olivia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Olivia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Olivia
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.