Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 2.0Scandia has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The two grades for Scandia are A+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. There are 476 jobs in Scandia for 1,850 working residents. Measured by household income, Scandia is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Scandia, in brief
Scandia workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Scandia’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Scandia is Minneapolis, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (202) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Scandia is a place people come home to
There are 476 jobs based in Scandia, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Scandia has about 2,600 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Scandia
71% of Scandia residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Scandia pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. 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.
Where Scandia’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Scandia is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #38 of 273 in Minnesota. The poverty rate is its strongest input (1.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 73% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Scandia could be anywhere from A− to A+.
About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of Minnesota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scandia workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,259 commuters (the 21% 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.
Half of Scandia commutes less than 24 miles
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.
Scandia by day and by night
On a workday 1,765 residents head out to work, 85 work right here, and 391 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Scandia on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Factories, building and farms: 32% of the jobs in Scandia
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scandia, 2013 → 2023: 385 → 476. 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 Scandia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
11% of working residents work in Minneapolis
Where Scandia clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
7% 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.
For most of Scandia, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Scandia is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns, #256 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Scandia 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 1,598 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 7.0% of Scandia households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Scandia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Scandia places 195th of 4,177 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Lower Milford Township PA | 3,898 | $123K | 3.4% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 194 | Bloomfield Hills MI | 4,390 | $190K | 3.9% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 195 | Scandia MN | 3,979 | $102K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| 196 | Riverton NJ | 2,842 | $121K | 1.4% | 4.0% | 4% | A+ |
| 197 | Plain City OH | 4,322 | $118K | 3.5% | 2.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | 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 Scandia, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Around Scandia: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Forest Lake (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Scandia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scandia | – | A+ | C− | 33 min | $101,953 |
| Forest Lake | 7% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,944 |
| May Township | under 2% | A+ | D | 36 min | $137,321 |
| Chisago Lake Township | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $133,220 |
| Marine on St. Croix | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Franconia Township | under 2% | B+ | C− | 34 min | $116,875 |
| Chisago City | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 30 min | $102,197 |
Same-state neighbors only. Marine on St. Croix: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Scandia’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 Scandia: questions
What is the median household income in Scandia?
$101,953 (±$20,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scandia?
1.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scandia?
33 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Scandia work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (11%, 29 mi), St. Paul (9%, 25 mi), Forest Lake (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Scandia walkable?
Scandia is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scandia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scandia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scandia
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.