Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domainAt 0.3%, unemployment in Two Harbors is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Two Harbors itself; outside it, Duluth draws the most (20%, 28 miles). For jobs and income Two Harbors is better than 52% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (A). Home is the office for 4% of workers, against 18% across Minnesota.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Two Harbors: the figures worth knowing
Two Harbors’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Two Harbors is Duluth, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (312) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Few Two Harbors workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Why Two Harbors gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Two Harbors’ grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Two Harbors could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
How far it is to work from Two Harbors
About 22% 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.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Two Harbors
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Two Harbors workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,617 commuters (the 4% 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.
Who works in Two Harbors, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,049 residents head out to work, 477 work right here, and 994 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.
Commuting out of Two Harbors: the destinations
Where Two Harbors clocks in
20% 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.
What Two Harbors’ employers do
1,471 jobs are based in Two Harbors.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Two Harbors, 2013 → 2023: 1,559 → 1,471. 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 Two Harbors’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Two Harbors is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,685 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). 7.0% of Two Harbors households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Two Harbors’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600, Two Harbors ranks 2,141st of 4,402 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 18 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,139 | Adams Township OH | 3,319 | $69K | 13.6% | 1.9% | 7% | B− |
| 2,140 | Anahola HI | 3,067 | $101K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 2% | B− |
| 2,141 | Two Harbors MN | 3,443 | $66K | 11.7% | 0.3% | 31% | B− |
| 2,142 | Rollingwood CA | 3,627 | $100K | 14.7% | 10.0% | <1% | B− |
| 2,143 | Lindsborg KS | 3,824 | $81K | 6.8% | 4.6% | 29% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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 Two Harbors, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work in the towns next to Two Harbors
The biggest share goes to Silver Creek Township (7%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Two Harbors workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Harbors | – | B− | A | 25 min | $65,625 |
| Silver Creek Township | 7% | B− | D | 28 min | $87,564 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Two Harbors’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 Two Harbors: questions
What is the median household income in Two Harbors?
$65,625 (±$7,338) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Two Harbors?
11.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Two Harbors?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Two Harbors work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Duluth (20%, 28 mi), Silver Creek Township (7%, 16 mi), Stony River Township (3%, 45 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Two Harbors walkable?
Two Harbors is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Two Harbors without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Two Harbors, from the people who make the trip.
More of Two Harbors
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.