Work & commute · Battle Lake

Work & commute in Battle Lake, MN

Most working residents leave Battle Lake for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Fergus Falls (33%), Underwood (8%) and Perham (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27 of 322 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 295 Battle Lake residents head out of town to work, 27 work right here, and 410 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Battle Lake.

295live here, work elsewhere

27live and work here

410work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Battle Lake goes to work

Fergus Falls17.1 mi away

33%105

Battle Lake (in town)right here

8%27

Underwood7.4 mi away

8%26

Perham22.8 mi away

3%10

Fargo, ND66.2 mi away

3%9

Elbow Lake23.9 mi away

2%8

Alexandria32.6 mi away

2%8

Wadena30.4 mi away

2%7

Clitherall4.3 mi away

2%7

Duluth173.7 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%110

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

How far

How far Battle Lake commutes

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

22%

45%

10%

24%

22%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Battle Lake is balanced between jobs and homes

1.36jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Battle Lake are

437 jobs are based in Battle Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Battle Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Battle Lake

437 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less32%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month31%

Jobs Battle Lake residents hold

322 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month61%

−5%

Jobs based in Battle Lake, 2013 → 2023: 459 → 437. 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.