Work & commute · Albert Lea

Work & commute in Albert Lea, MN

54% of Albert Lea’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Austin (6%), Rochester (5%) and Owatonna (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

54%

4,046 of 7,504 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 3,458 Albert Lea residents head out of town to work, 4,046 work right here, and 4,580 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Albert Lea.

3,458live here, work elsewhere

4,046live and work here

4,580work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Albert Lea goes to work

Albert Lea (in town)right here

54%4,046

Austin19.3 mi away

6%447

Rochester50.7 mi away

5%387

Owatonna31 mi away

3%242

Minneapolis90.6 mi away

1%101

Faribault44.8 mi away

1%84

Mankato46.9 mi away

1%69

Bloomington81.2 mi away

1%59

St. Paul90.4 mi away

1%59

Lake Mills, IA18.4 mi away

1%49

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%1,961

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

How far

How far Albert Lea commutes

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

57%

10%

24%

57%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Albert Lea is balanced between jobs and homes

1.15jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Albert Lea are

8,626 jobs are based in Albert Lea. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Albert Lea’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Albert Lea

8,626 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Albert Lea residents hold

7,504 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−16%

Jobs based in Albert Lea, 2013 → 2023: 10,327 → 8,626. 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.