Work & commute · Princeton

Work & commute in Princeton, MN

About one in 5 of Princeton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Elk River (7%), Cambridge (4%) and St. Cloud (4%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

427 of 1,999 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,572 Princeton residents head out of town to work, 427 work right here, and 3,078 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Princeton.

1,572live here, work elsewhere

427live and work here

3,078work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Princeton goes to work

Princeton (in town)right here

21%427

Elk River16.3 mi away

7%139

Cambridge17.5 mi away

4%74

St. Cloud28.2 mi away

4%74

Zimmerman8.8 mi away

2%49

Anoka26.3 mi away

2%44

Coon Rapids30.3 mi away

2%44

Rogers26.5 mi away

2%43

Minneapolis44.6 mi away

2%41

Milaca13.4 mi away

2%40

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%1,024

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

How far

How far Princeton commutes

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

33%

24%

31%

12%

33%Under 10 mi

24%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Princeton is a job hub

1.75jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Princeton are

3,505 jobs are based in Princeton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Princeton

3,505 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Princeton residents hold

1,999 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+6%

Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 3,301 → 3,505. 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.