Work & commute · Brainerd

Work & commute in Brainerd, MN

About one in 3 of Brainerd’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Baxter (17%), Nisswa (3%) and St. Cloud (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

1,815 of 6,214 working residents

Typical commute

6 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 4,399 Brainerd residents head out of town to work, 1,815 work right here, and 7,873 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Brainerd.

4,399live here, work elsewhere

1,815live and work here

7,873work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Brainerd goes to work

Brainerd (in town)right here

29%1,815

Baxter3.8 mi away

17%1,027

Nisswa11.1 mi away

3%160

St. Cloud57.3 mi away

2%130

Minneapolis106.1 mi away

2%119

Duluth102.2 mi away

2%117

Lake Edward9.6 mi away

2%113

Crow Wing5.7 mi away

2%99

Kathio25.7 mi away

2%97

Little Falls26.5 mi away

1%89

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%2,448

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

How far

How far Brainerd commutes

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

55%

12%

28%

55%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Brainerd is a job hub

1.56jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Brainerd are

9,688 jobs are based in Brainerd. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brainerd’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Brainerd

9,688 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Brainerd residents hold

6,214 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+11%

Jobs based in Brainerd, 2013 → 2023: 8,739 → 9,688. 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.