Calumet Hotel · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Pipestone (3.0%) than in 70% of U.S. towns
Pipestone grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 6% of workers have no commute at all (Minnesota 18%). About half work in Pipestone; the top destination outside it is Sioux Falls (5%, 38 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Pipestone apart
Commutes from Pipestone are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Pipestone than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Pipestone fell from 4,367 in 2013 to 2,558 in 2023, −41%. 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 ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Pipestone
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pipestone is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #227 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment holds Pipestone’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 19% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pipestone could be anywhere from C− to B.
About 13 minutes each way for Pipestone’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pipestone workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,838 commuters (the 6% 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.
What work there is in Pipestone: 2,558 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pipestone, 2013 → 2023: 4,367 → 2,558. 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 Pipestone’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Pipestone
On a workday 1,127 residents head out to work, 960 work right here, and 1,598 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Pipestone on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 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.
Commuting out of Pipestone: the destinations
Where Pipestone clocks in
5% of workers
2% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Pipestone
About 18% 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.
In Pipestone, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pipestone is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #80 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Pipestone 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 1,960 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). 10.1% of Pipestone households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Pipestone’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pipestone next to U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500: 2,658th of 4,023 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 16 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,656 | Saltlick Township PA | 2,908 | $72K | 6.5% | 11.1% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,657 | Jamestown CA | 3,265 | $57K | 6.1% | 4.3% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,658 | Pipestone MN | 4,100 | $68K | 13.1% | 3.0% | 46% | C+ |
| 2,659 | Spencer NC | 3,450 | $65K | 11.2% | 7.1% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,660 | Broadway VA | 4,463 | $65K | 13.3% | 4.1% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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 Pipestone, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Pipestone compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Sweet Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pipestone workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipestone | – | C+ | A− | 13 min | $67,568 |
| Sweet Township | 1% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Gray Township | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sweet Township and Gray Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pipestone’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 Pipestone: questions
What is the median household income in Pipestone?
$67,568 (±$9,620) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pipestone?
13.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pipestone?
13 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pipestone work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sioux Falls (5%, 38 mi), Brewster (5%, 47 mi), Marshall (2%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pipestone walkable?
Pipestone is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pipestone without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pipestone, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pipestone
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.