Photo: Widgetkid · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Orono top those of 97% of U.S. towns
6.2% of residents are in poverty, against 9.3% across Minnesota. The two grades for Orono are A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. 32% of workers have no commute at all; Minnesota has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Orono and work: the main findings
Inside Orono’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Orono is better than 95% of U.S. towns, #42 of 273 in Minnesota. Household income is its strongest input ($173,527, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. 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, Orono could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The trip to work from Orono: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Orono workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,643 commuters (the 32% 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.
Who leaves Orono for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,420 residents head out to work, 149 work right here, and 1,767 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,600 people are in Orono on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.54 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.
19% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where Orono clocks in
19% 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.
Inside Orono’s 1,916 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Orono, 2013 → 2023: 1,636 → 1,916. 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 Orono’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Orono
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.
Driving is how Orono gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Orono is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #217 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% 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 3,860 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 24% 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 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 2.7% of Orono households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Orono’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,200, Orono ranks 219th of 3,012 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Albertville MN | 8,544 | $133K | 1.1% | 0.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Corcoran MN | 9,269 | $133K | 3.6% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Livonia Township MN | 6,436 | $137K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 217 | Wollochet WA | 6,689 | $149K | 1.5% | 3.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 218 | St. Anthony MN | 9,989 | $97K | 6.9% | 1.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 219 | Orono MN | 8,301 | $174K | 6.2% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| 220 | Malverne NY | 8,476 | $149K | 8.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 221 | East Caln Township PA | 5,971 | $102K | 1.7% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,012 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Orono, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Orono compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Wayzata (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Orono workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orono | – | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $173,527 |
| Wayzata | 4% | A+ | A | 18 min | $131,614 |
| Spring Park | under 4% | B− | A− | 21 min | $48,315 |
| Village of Minnetonka Beach | under 4% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Medina | under 4% | A | B− | 26 min | $230,859 |
| Tonka Bay | under 4% | A+ | B+ | 26 min | $156,458 |
| Mound | under 4% | B+ | B | 31 min | $86,675 |
| Shorewood | under 4% | A | A− | 23 min | $171,063 |
| Minnetrista | under 4% | A | B− | 27 min | $163,051 |
Same-state neighbors only. Village of Minnetonka Beach: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Orono’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 Orono: questions
What is the median household income in Orono?
$173,527 (±$23,640) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Orono?
6.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Orono?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Orono work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (19%, 16 mi), Plymouth (7%, 7 mi), Minnetonka (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Orono walkable?
Orono is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Orono without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Orono, from the people who make the trip.
More of Orono
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.