Crow Wing State Park · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Sylvan Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Only 3% work in Sylvan Township itself; outside it, Brainerd draws the most (22%, 10 miles). 282 jobs are based in Sylvan Township, against 1,288 working residents. For jobs and income Sylvan Township is better than 71% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (C+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Sylvan Township: the gist
Sylvan Township is a place people come home to
There are 282 jobs based in Sylvan Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sylvan Township has about 2,000 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Sylvan Township and Brainerd trade workers both ways
Brainerd is the top workplace for Sylvan Township residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Sylvan Township come from (10% of its jobs). 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.
Where Sylvan Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Unemployment holds Sylvan Township’s grade up (2.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 27% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sylvan Township could be anywhere from B− to A.
Sylvan Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,252 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 246 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Sylvan Township on a workday afternoon, 33% 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.
Where people from Sylvan Township work
Where Sylvan Township clocks in
22% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 37% of the jobs in Sylvan Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sylvan Township, 2013 → 2023: 170 → 282. 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 Sylvan Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way, about the MN average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sylvan Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,384 commuters (the 11% 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 Sylvan Township commutes less than 12 miles
About 25% 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.
For most of Sylvan Township, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,562 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). 1.0% of Sylvan Township households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sylvan Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,771 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100, Sylvan Township comes 1,248th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,246 | Mahoning Township PA | 2,649 | $65K | 5.3% | 2.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,247 | Forest Heights MD | 2,618 | $99K | 5.6% | 10.3% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,248 | Sylvan Township MN | 3,030 | $95K | 6.4% | 2.1% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,249 | Pavilion NY | 2,254 | $86K | 9.5% | 1.8% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,250 | Amwell Township PA | 3,646 | $78K | 6.6% | 2.5% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | 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 Sylvan Township, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Sylvan Township and its neighbors: 23% work next door
The biggest share goes to Baxter (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sylvan Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan Township | – | B+ | C+ | 23 min | $95,354 |
| Rosing Township | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Pillager | 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Fort Ripley Township | under 2% | C | C | 31 min | $75,000 |
| Scandia Valley Township | under 2% | B | C | 32 min | $81,750 |
| Fairview Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Baxter | 15% | B− | B | 19 min | $70,688 |
| May Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| East Gull Lake | 5% | A− | D | 25 min | $123,333 |
Same-state neighbors only. Rosing Township, Pillager and May Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Fairview Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sylvan Township’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 Sylvan Township: questions
What is the median household income in Sylvan Township?
$95,354 (±$7,185) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sylvan Township?
6.4%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sylvan Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sylvan Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brainerd (22%, 10 mi), Baxter (15%, 6 mi), East Gull Lake (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sylvan Township walkable?
Sylvan Township is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sylvan Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sylvan Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sylvan Township
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.