Charles P. Noyes Cottage · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0White Bear Lake’s household incomes are higher than in 60% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in White Bear Lake for work; outside it, St. Paul is the main destination (14%, 9 miles). The poverty rate is 7.0%, where Minnesota as a whole has 9.3%. For jobs and income White Bear Lake is better than 78% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in White Bear Lake
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in White Bear Lake
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, White Bear Lake could be anywhere from B to A.
Who works in White Bear Lake, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 10,239 residents head out to work, 1,209 work right here, and 10,251 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 (1.00 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.
Out of White Bear Lake to work: where people go
Where White Bear Lake clocks in
14% of workers
12% of workers
4% 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 work there is in White Bear Lake: 11,460 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in White Bear Lake, 2013 → 2023: 9,931 → 11,460. 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 White Bear Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from White Bear Lake takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White Bear Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,582 commuters (the 21% 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.
How far it is to work from White Bear Lake
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.
Most trips from White Bear Lake start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 12,109 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 30% 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 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 5.2% of White Bear Lake households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of White Bear Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
White Bear Lake next to U.S. towns of 16,000 to 32,000: 650th of 1,780 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Prior Lake MN | 28,140 | $134K | 3.1% | 1.5% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 648 | Wappinger NY | 28,215 | $95K | 5.4% | 3.8% | 11% | A− |
| 649 | North Huntingdon Township PA | 31,697 | $101K | 5.1% | 5.0% | 12% | A− |
| 650 | White Bear Lake MN | 23,392 | $84K | 7.0% | 4.0% | 11% | A− |
| 651 | Orchard Park NY | 29,804 | $110K | 7.2% | 4.4% | 14% | A− |
| 652 | Bainbridge Island WA | 24,691 | $172K | 3.5% | 2.8% | 26% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,780 | 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 White Bear Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
White Bear Lake and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Vadnais Heights (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | White Bear Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Bear Lake | – | A− | B+ | 22 min | $83,554 |
| White Bear Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 24 min | $128,963 |
| Mahtomedi | under 2% | A | B | 24 min | $123,319 |
| Vadnais Heights | 3% | A | B− | 23 min | $98,685 |
| Gem Lake | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Maplewood | 3% | B+ | A− | 22 min | $91,394 |
Same-state neighbors only. Gem Lake: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of White Bear Lake’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 White Bear Lake: questions
What is the median household income in White Bear Lake?
$83,554 (±$7,140) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in White Bear Lake?
7.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White Bear Lake?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White Bear Lake work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Paul (14%, 9 mi), Minneapolis (12%, 14 mi), Roseville (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is White Bear Lake walkable?
White Bear Lake is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around White Bear Lake without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from White Bear Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of White Bear Lake
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.