Work & commute · Blue Earth

Work & commute in Blue Earth, MN

50% of Blue Earth’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Fairmont (6%), Mankato (5%) and Blue Earth City (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

50%

708 of 1,409 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 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 701 Blue Earth residents head out of town to work, 708 work right here, and 1,244 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Blue Earth.

701live here, work elsewhere

708live and work here

1,244work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Blue Earth goes to work

Blue Earth (in town)right here

50%708

Fairmont18.2 mi away

6%85

Mankato37.2 mi away

5%77

Blue Earth City1.7 mi away

3%41

Winnebago9.3 mi away

2%31

Rochester84.9 mi away

2%25

Marshall100.8 mi away

2%23

Wells19.7 mi away

1%19

New Ulm49.9 mi away

1%16

Albert Lea36.8 mi away

1%12

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%372

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

How far

How far Blue Earth commutes

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

57%

11%

12%

19%

57%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Blue Earth is balanced between jobs and homes

1.39jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Blue Earth are

1,952 jobs are based in Blue Earth. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Blue Earth’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Blue Earth

1,952 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Blue Earth residents hold

1,409 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−8%

Jobs based in Blue Earth, 2013 → 2023: 2,114 → 1,952. 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.