Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, MN

Most working residents leave Columbus for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Minneapolis (10%), Forest Lake (9%) and St. Paul (8%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

74 of 2,073 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,999 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 74 work right here, and 1,565 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

1,999live here, work elsewhere

74live and work here

1,565work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Minneapolis21.5 mi away

10%216

Forest Lake6.9 mi away

9%180

St. Paul21 mi away

8%163

Blaine7.4 mi away

5%98

Columbus (in town)right here

4%74

Fridley13.8 mi away

3%65

Coon Rapids11.2 mi away

3%63

Roseville16.6 mi away

3%56

Edina27.9 mi away

3%55

Lino Lakes6.3 mi away

2%50

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%1,053

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Columbus commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

21%

58%

17%

21%Under 10 mi

58%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is balanced between jobs and homes

0.79jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

1,639 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbus

1,639 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

2,073 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month73%

+45%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 1,132 → 1,639. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.