Emily and Stephen Schumacher House · Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0At 2.0%, unemployment in St. Peter is lower than in 85% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in St. Peter for work; outside it, Mankato is the main destination (19%, 11 miles). St. Peter grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The average commute takes 15 minutes each way (Minnesota 23, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set St. Peter apart
St. Peter and Mankato trade workers both ways
Mankato is the top workplace for St. Peter residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in St. Peter come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from St. Peter are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker, and quicker than any town next door (18 to 24 minutes). 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for St. Peter
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. Peter is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #208 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment holds St. Peter’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (16.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, St. Peter could be anywhere from C to B.
Commuting out of St. Peter: the destinations
Where St. Peter clocks in
19% 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.
St. Peter’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Peter workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,964 commuters (the 19% 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.
The daily flow of workers through St. Peter
On a workday 3,161 residents head out to work, 1,533 work right here, and 4,563 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in St. Peter on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 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.
Most jobs in St. Peter are in services
6,096 jobs are based in St. Peter.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Peter, 2013 → 2023: 5,397 → 6,096. 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 St. Peter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from St. Peter
About 17% 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.
St. Peter is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. Peter is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #77 of 273 in Minnesota. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 17.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 7.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,151 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). 5.9% of St. Peter households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of St. Peter’s commuters take a bus or train.
St. Peter is 1,501st 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% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,499 | Chestnuthill Township PA | 16,555 | $90K | 6.9% | 6.8% | 11% | B− |
| 1,500 | Columbia City IN | 10,256 | $68K | 13.6% | 3.7% | 15% | B− |
| 1,501 | St. Peter MN | 12,275 | $65K | 16.8% | 2.0% | 33% | B− |
| 1,502 | Shawano WI | 9,693 | $57K | 14.9% | 0.9% | 28% | B− |
| 1,503 | Hampton GA | 9,349 | $75K | 13.4% | 5.0% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 St. Peter, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How St. Peter compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. Peter workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Peter | – | B− | A− | 15 min | $65,122 |
| Kasota Township | under 2% | A | C | 21 min | $119,500 |
| Traverse Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Kasota | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Oshawa Township | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Traverse Township, Kasota and Oshawa Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. Peter’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 St. Peter: questions
What is the median household income in St. Peter?
$65,122 (±$5,304) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Peter?
16.8%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Peter?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Peter work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mankato (19%, 11 mi), North Mankato (6%, 11 mi), Le Sueur (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is St. Peter walkable?
St. Peter is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. Peter without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Peter, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Peter
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.