Jobs, pay and daily life in Northfield, from official statistics with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Northfield is a city in Minnesota with 20,742 residents. The median household earns $84,895 a year and the median rent is $1,103 a month, which is 15.6% of the median household income. The nearest metropolitan area with BLS wage data is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (1,951,650 jobs), about 14 miles away; this place is probably not part of it, so its pay tables are a reference only.
How Northfield compares. Among the 80 largest places in Minnesota, Northfield is #58 by population, #68 for long commutes (#1 = fewest), #15 for college degrees (#1 = most), #19 for rent (#1 = cheapest). Its county, Rice County, is #15 of 87 counties for average pay ($60,604).
Northfield has 20,742 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.4% of the population of Minnesota. It covers 9 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 2,428 people per square mile. The median age is 28.2, 27% younger than the state median (28.2 against 38.8).
The median gross rent is $1,103 a month (rent plus utilities), 14% below the state median ($1,103 against $1,280). Over a year that is 15.6% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $329,400, which is 3.9 times the median household income ($84,895); a ratio under 4 usually means ownership is within reach for many households. 69.3% of households own their home, 4% below the state average (69.3% against 72.2%).
The nearest metropolitan area with wage data is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, metropolitan area has 1,951,650 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $59,320 a year, 16% above the national median ($59,320 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (214,110 jobs, median $52,920); sales and related (165,000 jobs, median $43,520); food preparation and serving related (160,260 jobs, median $35,000). The area is most specialised in architecture and engineering (1.3 times) and healthcare support (1.3 times), where the share of workers is above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($132,590) and legal ($110,530). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Rice County was 4.3%. 63.5% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Rice County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.
Among workers, 55.0% drive alone, 0.6% use public transit, 20.7% walk, 16.2% work from home. 13.4% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 28% above the state average (13.4% against 10.5%).
53.3% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 35% above the state share (53.3% against 39.4%). 8.8% of residents were born outside the United States, about the same as the state share (8.8% against 8.7%). The poverty rate is 8.8%, 5% below the state rate (8.8% against 9.3%).
The warmest month is Jul, averaging 73°F (22.9°C), and the coolest is Jan at 14°F (-9.8°C). About 823 mm (32 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Jun is the wettest month (128 mm) and Jan the driest (18 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.
Closest cities in this guide: Faribault (12 miles, similar rent); Farmington (14 miles, rent 13% higher); Lakeville (16 miles, rent 64% higher); Apple Valley (20 miles, rent 58% higher). Rent differences are against Northfield; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.
Federal jobs in Minnesota (792) →State guide: MinnesotaCountry guideRice CountyMinnesota rankings
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
There are 792 federal postings open in Minnesota (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.
Open federal jobs in Minnesota →
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 93,560 | 1.73 | $38,860 | $33,760 | $46,860 | +9% |
| Retail Salespersons | 51,180 | 1.05 | $36,670 | $29,260 | $48,260 | +4% |
| General and Operations Managers | 44,890 | 1.02 | $103,570 | $49,640 | $220,960 | -2% |
| Registered Nurses | 43,600 | 1.03 | $103,040 | $82,180 | $133,450 | +6% |
| Customer Service Representatives | 38,630 | 1.19 | $49,480 | $36,180 | $73,920 | +11% |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 37,920 | 0.78 | $33,040 | $28,920 | $37,490 | +6% |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 36,700 | 0.99 | $47,320 | $36,450 | $61,770 | +18% |
| Office Clerks, General | 35,610 | 1.15 | $48,790 | $34,780 | $69,980 | +8% |
| Cashiers | 32,760 | 0.84 | $35,760 | $29,040 | $45,140 | +9% |
| Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators | 29,570 | 1.68 | $47,200 | $37,850 | $60,650 | +6% |
| Software Developers | 27,410 | 1.29 | $130,920 | $83,020 | $170,060 | -4% |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 26,790 | 0.97 | $40,800 | $31,700 | $53,900 | +11% |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 25,700 | 0.72 | $37,440 | $31,150 | $49,260 | +0% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 25,620 | 0.90 | $25,920 | $23,260 | $43,280 | -26% |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | 23,370 | 1.31 | $45,310 | $33,360 | $54,580 | +23% |
| Accountants and Auditors | 21,820 | 1.20 | $86,500 | $61,940 | $145,710 | +3% |
| Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 21,560 | 1.39 | $78,470 | $48,140 | $139,140 | +9% |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 20,430 | 0.79 | $64,200 | $48,080 | $83,410 | +9% |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 19,180 | 0.90 | $54,080 | $39,380 | $70,390 | +14% |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 18,090 | 0.94 | $60,470 | $40,010 | $79,500 | +22% |
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physicians, All Other | 3,690 | 0.86 | $378,730 | $75,280 | $468,570 | +42% |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | 550 | 1.33 | $367,120 | $77,510 | $480,400 | +9% |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | 1,440 | 1.71 | $330,200 | $172,470 | $650,820 | +29% |
| Family Medicine Physicians | 1,120 | 0.83 | $283,060 | $167,750 | $372,970 | +16% |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 1,250 | 1.92 | $258,570 | $221,970 | $277,440 | +9% |
| Pediatricians, General | 600 | 1.22 | $226,280 | $83,920 | $315,930 | +8% |
| Dentists, General | 1,760 | 1.13 | $219,980 | $130,800 | $227,640 | +29% |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 2,940 | 2.26 | $211,470 | $130,420 | $353,410 | -9% |
| Chief Executives | 4,500 | 1.75 | $209,980 | $102,310 | $479,550 | -2% |
| Air Traffic Controllers | 620 | 2.20 | $179,670 | $99,230 | $222,000 | +21% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 8,780 | 1.04 | $178,080 | $122,210 | $286,300 | +2% |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 3,820 | 1.38 | $174,510 | $131,640 | $227,560 | +2% |
| Marketing Managers | 6,480 | 1.31 | $173,040 | $103,510 | $281,830 | +4% |
| Financial Managers | 12,460 | 1.18 | $165,620 | $102,710 | $293,100 | -1% |
| Pharmacists | 4,160 | 1.03 | $160,990 | $79,060 | $172,670 | +14% |
| Lawyers | 10,160 | 1.07 | $159,620 | $85,810 | $352,210 | -0% |
| Human Resources Managers | 3,500 | 1.26 | $159,390 | $101,350 | $250,810 | +7% |
| Veterinarians | 1,470 | 1.40 | $158,200 | $86,560 | $218,830 | +22% |
| Sales Managers | 8,410 | 1.05 | $158,100 | $81,220 | $272,360 | +7% |
| Managers, All Other | 3,630 | 0.47 | $153,860 | $96,860 | $225,250 | +8% |
These figures are for the nearest metropolitan area with wage data, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, about 14 miles away. They show what the regional labour market pays; they are not a measure of this city.
Median pay across all occupations: $59,320 (US $50,980); unemployment 4.5% (2026M09).
| Industry (residents) ⇅ | Share of employed residents ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Education and health care | 42.1% |
| Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food | 13.1% |
| Manufacturing | 10.5% |
| Retail trade | 7.2% |
| Construction | 5.5% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative | 4.6% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 4.3% |
| Other services | 3.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 3.1% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 2.3% |
| Public administration | 2.0% |
| Information | 0.7% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining | 0.7% |
Cities have no official GDP or payroll count of their own. These figures are for the county (the first of several) where Northfield lies and cover the whole county, not only the city. The city also extends into Dakota County.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP (2024) ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs (QCEW 2024) ⇅ | Employer sites ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Job change vs 2023 ⇅ | Unemployment rate ⇅ | Labour force ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice County | 67,917 | $4,083 million | $60,123 | 26,196 | 1,786 | $60,604 | +2.5% | 4.3% | 36,273 |
| Dakota County | 445,771 | $37,138 million | $83,313 | 189,387 | 11,950 | $72,792 | +0.7% | 4.4% | 252,001 |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5,319 | 23.6% | $90,041 | 2.47 |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,048 | 13.5% | $49,551 | 0.81 |
| Retail trade | 2,747 | 12.2% | $33,627 | 1.05 |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,349 | 10.4% | $21,457 | 0.99 |
| Educational services | 2,293 | 10.2% | $71,021 | 4.23 |
| Construction | 1,107 | 4.9% | $71,154 | 0.81 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,103 | 4.9% | $81,529 | 1.07 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,090 | 4.8% | $55,667 | 0.98 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 885 | 3.9% | $33,947 | 1.12 |
| Administrative and waste services | 600 | 2.7% | $41,828 | 0.39 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 476 | 2.1% | $51,007 | 2.25 |
| Finance and insurance | 452 | 2.0% | $93,343 | 0.43 |
| Professional and technical services | 373 | 1.7% | $61,171 | 0.20 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 248 | 1.1% | $21,384 | 0.56 |
| Information | 140 | 0.6% | $55,748 | 0.29 |
| Real estate and rental | 124 | 0.6% | $65,282 | 0.30 |
| Utilities | 83 | 0.4% | $135,490 | 0.83 |
| Management of companies | 44 | 0.2% | $78,249 | 0.10 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 40 | 0.2% | $73,131 | 0.40 |
QCEW counts jobs covered by unemployment insurance; sectors with too few employers are withheld by BLS. Latest-month unemployment is preliminary.
| How residents get to work ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Drive alone | 55.0% |
| Public transit | 0.6% |
| Walk | 20.7% |
| Work from home | 16.2% |
| Commute of 45 minutes or more | 13.4% |
Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median household income | $84,895 |
| Income per person | $36,703 |
| Median gross rent per month | $1,103 |
| Yearly rent as share of median household income | 15.6% |
| Median home value | $329,400 |
| Homeowners | 69.3% |
| Poverty rate | 8.8% |
| Price level of the nearest metro area (US = 100) | 104.8 |
| Nearest metro median pay, all occupations | $59,320 |
Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set; graduated states show 0 until you enter your own estimate. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.
State tax: Graduated, top rate 9.85%.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median age | 28.2 |
| High school or higher (25+) | 96.7% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 53.3% |
| Born abroad | 8.8% |
| Labour force participation (16+) | 63.5% |
Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.
| Month ⇅ | Mean temperature (°C) ⇅ | Mean temperature (°F) ⇅ | Precipitation (mm) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -9.8 | 14 | 18 |
| Feb | -8.2 | 17 | 27 |
| Mar | -0.1 | 32 | 45 |
| Apr | 7.2 | 45 | 80 |
| May | 14.0 | 57 | 108 |
| Jun | 20.0 | 68 | 128 |
| Jul | 22.9 | 73 | 92 |
| Aug | 21.4 | 71 | 104 |
| Sep | 16.9 | 62 | 88 |
| Oct | 8.2 | 47 | 64 |
| Nov | 0.9 | 34 | 33 |
| Dec | -6.5 | 20 | 36 |
Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.
| City ⇅ | State ⇅ | Distance (straight line) ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faribault | MN | 12 mi | 24,631 | $61,449 | $1,074 |
| Farmington | MN | 14 mi | 23,902 | $123,673 | $1,241 |
| Lakeville | MN | 16 mi | 74,354 | $139,041 | $1,806 |
| Apple Valley | MN | 20 mi | 55,679 | $97,673 | $1,738 |
| Rosemount | MN | 21 mi | 27,562 | $129,625 | $1,640 |
| Burnsville | MN | 22 mi | 64,463 | $87,024 | $1,513 |
| Prior Lake | MN | 23 mi | 28,016 | $134,255 | $1,654 |
| Savage | MN | 23 mi | 32,889 | $125,513 | $1,766 |
| Hastings | MN | 25 mi | 22,117 | $93,998 | $1,183 |
| Eagan | MN | 25 mi | 68,000 | $108,690 | $1,679 |
Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.
Pick two cities.
vs
20,742 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).
$1,103 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 15.6% of the median household income.
$84,895 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).
4.3% (BLS county, Rice County (latest month 2026M09)).
Minnesota. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.