Work & commute · Northfield

Work & commute in Northfield, MN

About one in 3 of Northfield’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Faribault (5%), Minneapolis (5%) and St. Paul (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

2,841 of 8,047 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,206 Northfield residents head out of town to work, 2,841 work right here, and 6,884 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Northfield.

5,206live here, work elsewhere

2,841live and work here

6,884work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Northfield goes to work

Northfield (in town)right here

35%2,841

Faribault12 mi away

5%382

Minneapolis35.4 mi away

5%377

St. Paul34.2 mi away

3%280

Lakeville15.8 mi away

3%239

Dundas2.5 mi away

2%199

Rochester45.9 mi away

2%188

Bloomington26.8 mi away

2%168

Eagan24.8 mi away

2%162

Burnsville22 mi away

2%156

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%3,055

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

How far

How far Northfield commutes

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

41%

17%

32%

41%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

32%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Northfield is balanced between jobs and homes

1.21jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Northfield are

9,725 jobs are based in Northfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Northfield

9,725 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Northfield residents hold

8,047 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month65%

+9%

Jobs based in Northfield, 2013 → 2023: 8,943 → 9,725. 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.