Work & commute · Austin

Work & commute in Austin, MN

57% of Austin’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Rochester (8%), Albert Lea (5%) and Owatonna (2%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

57%

6,579 of 11,581 working residents

Typical commute

2 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 5,002 Austin residents head out of town to work, 6,579 work right here, and 5,222 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Austin.

5,002live here, work elsewhere

6,579live and work here

5,222work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Austin goes to work

Austin (in town)right here

57%6,579

Rochester34.3 mi away

8%932

Albert Lea19.3 mi away

5%526

Owatonna31.7 mi away

2%231

Minneapolis90.4 mi away

1%142

St. Paul88.4 mi away

1%114

Mankato60.5 mi away

1%91

Marshall149.5 mi away

1%81

Bloomington81.7 mi away

1%78

Faribault45.9 mi away

1%68

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%2,739

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

How far

How far Austin commutes

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

59%

14%

18%

59%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Austin is balanced between jobs and homes

1.02jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Austin are

11,801 jobs are based in Austin. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Austin’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Austin

11,801 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Austin residents hold

11,581 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−11%

Jobs based in Austin, 2013 → 2023: 13,287 → 11,801. 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.