Photo: DanNowicki · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in West St. Paul trail those of 61% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis. 8.9% of residents are in poverty (Minnesota 9.3%). The two grades for West St. Paul are B for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: West St. Paul in brief
West St. Paul and St. Paul trade workers both ways
St. Paul is the top workplace for West St. Paul residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in West St. Paul come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most West St. Paul residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 5% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in West St. Paul
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West St. Paul is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #166 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds West St. Paul’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($68,464, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West St. Paul could be anywhere from B− to A−.
20% of working residents work in St. Paul
Where West St. Paul clocks in
20% of workers
14% of workers
5% 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 commute from West St. Paul, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
West St. Paul on a workday afternoon
On a workday 8,582 residents head out to work, 745 work right here, and 6,395 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in West St. Paul on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in West St. Paul
7,140 jobs are based in West St. Paul.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West St. Paul, 2014 → 2024: 6,902 → 7,140. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West St. Paul’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes each way, about the MN average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West St. Paul workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,698 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: West St. Paul
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West St. Paul is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #24 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.2% 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 10,823 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, 55% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 14.7% of West St. Paul households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of West St. Paul’s commuters take a bus or train.
How West St. Paul ranks: 964th of 1,847 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 962 | Woodlawn VA | 21,194 | $92K | 10.6% | 5.7% | 1% | B |
| 963 | Loganville GA | 17,212 | $84K | 8.9% | 4.9% | 4% | B |
| 964 | West St. Paul MN | 21,950 | $68K | 8.9% | 4.5% | 8% | B |
| 965 | Cartersville GA | 25,349 | $84K | 12.4% | 2.7% | 18% | B |
| 966 | Center Township IN | 20,019 | $65K | 8.0% | 3.4% | 29% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 West St. Paul, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Bordering towns draw 22% of West St. Paul’s workers
The biggest share goes to St. Paul (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West St. Paul workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West St. Paul | – | B | A | 22 min | $68,464 |
| South St. Paul | under 2% | B+ | A− | 21 min | $87,994 |
| Inver Grove Heights | 2% | A | A | 22 min | $101,316 |
| St. Paul | 20% | B− | A+ | 21 min | $73,394 |
| Sunfish Lake | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sunfish Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West St. Paul’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 2024, 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 West St. Paul: questions
What is the median household income in West St. Paul?
$68,464 (±$8,274) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West St. Paul?
8.9%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West St. Paul?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West St. Paul work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (20%, 3 mi), Minneapolis (14%, 10 mi), Eagan (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West St. Paul walkable?
West St. Paul is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West St. Paul without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 55% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West St. Paul, from the people who make the trip.
More of West St. Paul
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.