Zumbrota Covered Bridge · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Zumbrota (1.3%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Zumbrota grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.2 in Minneapolis. About one in seven work in Zumbrota itself; outside it, Rochester draws the most (31%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Zumbrota stands out on work
Zumbrota workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (23 to 29 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Zumbrota has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Zumbrota went from 1,023 in 2013 to 1,681 in 2023, +64%. The jobs ↓
Zumbrota and Rochester trade workers both ways
Rochester is the top workplace for Zumbrota residents (31%) and also where the most people who work in Zumbrota come from (10% of its jobs). 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.
How Zumbrota earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Zumbrota is better than 72% of U.S. towns, #144 of 273 in Minnesota. Unemployment holds Zumbrota’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Zumbrota could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Each way, about 32 minutes from Zumbrota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Zumbrota workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,779 commuters (the 13% 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.
What work there is in Zumbrota: 1,681 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Zumbrota, 2013 → 2023: 1,023 → 1,681. 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 Zumbrota’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Zumbrota to work: where people go
Where Zumbrota clocks in
31% 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 daily commute in and out of Zumbrota
On a workday 1,773 residents head out to work, 293 work right here, and 1,388 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 (0.81 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.
How far it is to work from Zumbrota
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Zumbrota is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Zumbrota is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #73 of 273 in Minnesota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.1% 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 2,044 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 91% 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 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 7.6% of Zumbrota households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Zumbrota’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Zumbrota is 1,155th of 4,023 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 16 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,153 | Clinton Township OH | 4,003 | $93K | 8.8% | 1.4% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,154 | Washington Township PA | 5,222 | $86K | 3.4% | 4.8% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,155 | Zumbrota MN | 4,072 | $78K | 7.2% | 1.3% | 14% | B+ |
| 1,156 | Lima NY | 4,125 | $87K | 9.4% | 2.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,157 | West Pottsgrove Township PA | 3,798 | $81K | 8.4% | 3.5% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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 Zumbrota, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Next door to Zumbrota
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Zumbrota workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zumbrota | – | B+ | A− | 32 min | $78,156 |
| Zumbrota Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Minneola Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Pine Island Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Roscoe Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Zumbrota Township, Minneola Township, Pine Island Township and Roscoe Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Zumbrota’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 Zumbrota: questions
What is the median household income in Zumbrota?
$78,156 (±$26,460) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Zumbrota?
7.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Zumbrota?
32 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Zumbrota work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rochester (31%, 22 mi), Wanamingo (4%, 6 mi), Red Wing (4%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Zumbrota walkable?
Zumbrota is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Zumbrota without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Zumbrota, from the people who make the trip.
More of Zumbrota
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.