Work & commute · Big Lake

Work & commute in Big Lake, MN

Most working residents leave Big Lake for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Minneapolis (8%), Elk River (7%) and Monticello (7%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

428 of 6,498 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,070 Big Lake residents head out of town to work, 428 work right here, and 1,984 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Big Lake.

6,070live here, work elsewhere

428live and work here

1,984work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Big Lake goes to work

Minneapolis34.9 mi away

8%506

Elk River8.6 mi away

7%478

Monticello4 mi away

7%475

Big Lake (in town)right here

7%428

St. Cloud24.3 mi away

4%258

Maple Grove20.8 mi away

4%229

Plymouth26 mi away

3%205

Coon Rapids23.9 mi away

3%175

St. Paul41.3 mi away

3%171

Rogers13.6 mi away

2%159

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%3,414

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

How far

How far Big Lake commutes

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

25%

26%

43%

25%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

43%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Big Lake is a commuter town

0.37jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.37 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Big Lake are

2,412 jobs are based in Big Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Big Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Big Lake

2,412 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Big Lake residents hold

6,498 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+1%

Jobs based in Big Lake, 2013 → 2023: 2,400 → 2,412. 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.