Photo: August Schwerdfeger · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Stillwater are higher than in 81% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis. 7.3% of residents are in poverty, next to 9.3% for Minnesota as a whole. Jobs and income earn Stillwater A; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Stillwater in brief
Stillwater trades workers with the towns around it
Stillwater has about as many jobs (8,904) as working residents (9,305), but they are mostly different people: 7,922 residents leave for work each day while 7,521 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Stillwater are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The quickest commute around
Stillwater’s 20-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 24 to 30 minutes. Next door ↓
Stillwater draws workers from far and wide
The 8,904 jobs in Stillwater are filled from a wide area. Stillwater’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 60% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
What’s behind Stillwater’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Stillwater is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #103 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Stillwater could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Stillwater
On a workday 7,922 residents head out to work, 1,383 work right here, and 7,521 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 (0.96 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.
11% of working residents work in St. Paul
Where Stillwater clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
5% 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 Stillwater’s employers do
8,904 jobs are based in Stillwater.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Stillwater, 2013 → 2023: 8,072 → 8,904. 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 Stillwater’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Stillwater, about 20 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Stillwater workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,758 commuters (the 22% 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.
Where in the region Stillwater works
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.
Stillwater is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% 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 9,932 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 48% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 3.0% of Stillwater households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Stillwater’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,760 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 26,000, Stillwater comes 470th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 468 | Firestone CO | 20,129 | $120K | 4.6% | 4.2% | 4% | A |
| 469 | Clive IA | 19,861 | $132K | 7.3% | 4.0% | 7% | A |
| 470 | Stillwater MN | 19,354 | $106K | 7.3% | 3.5% | 15% | A |
| 471 | Simsbury CT | 25,582 | $158K | 4.8% | 5.0% | 15% | A |
| 472 | Weehawken Township NJ | 17,827 | $128K | 7.3% | 4.9% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,760 | 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 Stillwater, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Stillwater and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Oak Park Heights (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Stillwater workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stillwater | – | A | A− | 20 min | $105,853 |
| Oak Park Heights | 5% | A− | A− | 24 min | $82,476 |
| Stillwater Township | under 2% | A+ | C− | 25 min | $161,563 |
| Grant | under 2% | A+ | B− | 25 min | $150,875 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Stillwater’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 Stillwater: questions
What is the median household income in Stillwater?
$105,853 (±$8,686) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Stillwater?
7.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Stillwater?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Stillwater work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (11%, 15 mi), Minneapolis (10%, 22 mi), Oak Park Heights (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Stillwater walkable?
Stillwater is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Stillwater without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Stillwater, from the people who make the trip.
More of Stillwater
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.