Photo: Ben Franske · CC BY-SA 4.0Waverly has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 167 jobs in Waverly for 933 working residents. The two grades for Waverly are A− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Waverly is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Waverly and work: the main findings
Waverly is a place people come home to
There are 167 jobs based in Waverly, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Waverly has about 1,500 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Waverly workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (31 to 34 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; with 933 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Waverly’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waverly is better than 78% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Waverly’s grade up ($112,222, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waverly could be anywhere from B to A.
Who works in Waverly, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 915 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 149 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Waverly 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.
A commute of about 37 minutes in Waverly
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waverly workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,156 commuters (the 16% 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.
9% of working residents work in Buffalo
Where Waverly clocks in
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.
The kinds of work in Waverly
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waverly, 2013 → 2023: 280 → 167. 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 Waverly’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Waverly to work
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.
Few in Waverly walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waverly is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 1,373 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). 0.3% of Waverly households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Waverly’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100, Waverly ranks 860th of 5,328 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 858 | Rainbow CA | 2,029 | $104K | 7.7% | 6.9% | 4% | A− |
| 859 | Cabana Colony FL | 2,045 | $90K | 13.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A− |
| 860 | Waverly MN | 2,293 | $112K | 10.6% | 2.0% | 2% | A− |
| 861 | Westphalia Township MI | 2,451 | $92K | 7.0% | 2.1% | 4% | A− |
| 862 | Montara CA | 2,917 | $234K | 3.4% | 9.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Waverly, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Waverly
The biggest share goes to Montrose (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waverly workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waverly | – | A− | C+ | 37 min | $112,222 |
| Woodland Township | under 2% | A− | B | 34 min | $96,563 |
| Marysville Township | under 2% | B | C | 31 min | $97,679 |
| Montrose | 2% | B+ | C− | 33 min | $102,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waverly’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 Waverly: questions
What is the median household income in Waverly?
$112,222 (±$12,661) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waverly?
10.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waverly?
37 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waverly work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Buffalo (9%, 9 mi), Plymouth (7%, 25 mi), Delano (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waverly walkable?
Waverly is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waverly without a car?
1% 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 Waverly, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waverly
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.