Amblard, Emile, Guest House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Waconia has higher household incomes than 84% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Waconia for work; outside it, Eden Prairie is the main destination (9%, 16 miles). 4.1% of residents are in poverty; Minnesota has 9.3%. The two grades for Waconia are A for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Waconia’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waconia is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #102 of 273 in Minnesota. The poverty rate holds Waconia’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waconia could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How many people are in Waconia by day
On a workday 5,486 residents head out to work, 1,311 work right here, and 4,011 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Waconia on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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 Waconia: the destinations
Where Waconia clocks in
9% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 the 5,322 jobs in Waconia are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waconia, 2013 → 2023: 5,617 → 5,322. 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 Waconia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waconia’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waconia workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,809 commuters (the 20% 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 Waconia commutes less than 18 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.
In Waconia, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waconia is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #170 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Waconia 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 7,286 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). 5.6% of Waconia households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Waconia’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000, Waconia comes 545th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 4 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Victoria MN | 12,447 | $196K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 543 | North Fayette Township PA | 16,017 | $102K | 4.0% | 4.3% | 10% | A |
| 544 | Tamalpais-Homestead Valley CA | 12,085 | $243K | 3.3% | 5.9% | 5% | A |
| 545 | Waconia MN | 14,113 | $111K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 19% | A |
| 546 | DeWitt Township MI | 15,516 | $97K | 6.0% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| 547 | Bon Air VA | 16,904 | $102K | 6.7% | 3.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | 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 Waconia, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
How Waconia compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waconia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waconia | – | A | B | 25 min | $111,031 |
| Waconia Township | under 3% | A− | C | 30 min | $122,083 |
| Laketown Township | under 3% | A+ | B+ | 22 min | $150,083 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waconia’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 Waconia: questions
What is the median household income in Waconia?
$111,031 (±$15,677) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waconia?
4.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waconia?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waconia work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eden Prairie (9%, 16 mi), Minneapolis (7%, 27 mi), Chanhassen (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waconia walkable?
Waconia is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waconia without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waconia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waconia
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.