Photo: 123dieinafire · CC BY 3.0Households in Wayzata have higher incomes than those in 92% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 5.8% of residents, where Minnesota as a whole has 9.3%. The two grades for Wayzata are A+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.2 in Minneapolis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Wayzata: the figures worth knowing
Wayzata has far more jobs than workers
Wayzata has 5,606 jobs, 3.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 8,200 people are in town, 89% more than the 4,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Wayzata
32% of Wayzata workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Time on the road ↓
Wayzata has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Wayzata went from 3,476 in 2013 to 5,606 in 2023, +61%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Wayzata are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
Wayzata draws workers from far and wide
The 5,606 jobs in Wayzata are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 43%; the other 55% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Wayzata’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wayzata is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #24 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. 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, Wayzata could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who leaves Wayzata for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,593 residents head out to work, 140 work right here, and 5,466 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,200 people are in Wayzata on a workday afternoon, 89% more than live here.
3.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 from Wayzata: about 18 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wayzata workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,198 commuters (the 32% 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.
Most jobs in Wayzata are in services
5,606 jobs are based in Wayzata.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wayzata, 2013 → 2023: 3,476 → 5,606. 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 Wayzata’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Wayzata’s workers come from
Where Wayzata clocks in
18% 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.
How far Wayzata’s workers travel
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Wayzata
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wayzata is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #16 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.4% 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 1,761 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 9.2% of Wayzata households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wayzata’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wayzata next to U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900: 114th of 4,136 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 17 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| 113 | Pound Ridge NY | 5,057 | $250K | 4.5% | 2.0% | 10% | A+ |
| 114 | Wayzata MN | 4,344 | $132K | 5.8% | 1.7% | 8% | A+ |
| 115 | Summit WI | 5,323 | $141K | 5.0% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 116 | Radnor Township IL | 5,177 | $179K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | 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 Wayzata, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Wayzata and its neighbors: 13% work next door
The biggest share goes to Plymouth (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wayzata workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayzata | – | A+ | A | 18 min | $131,614 |
| Minnetonka | 5% | A | A− | 19 min | $119,517 |
| Orono | under 4% | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $173,527 |
| Plymouth | 8% | A+ | A− | 22 min | $136,534 |
| Woodland | under 4% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Deephaven | under 4% | A+ | A− | 26 min | $197,679 |
Same-state neighbors only. Woodland: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wayzata’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 Wayzata: questions
What is the median household income in Wayzata?
$131,614 (±$12,844) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wayzata?
5.8%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wayzata?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wayzata work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (18%, 12 mi), Plymouth (8%, 4 mi), Eden Prairie (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wayzata walkable?
Wayzata is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wayzata without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wayzata, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wayzata
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.