Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, MN

Most working residents leave Center for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Chisago City (7%), Minneapolis (7%) and Lindstrom (7%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

5 of 349 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 344 Center residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 303 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

344live here, work elsewhere

5live and work here

303work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Chisago City5.1 mi away

7%24

Minneapolis37.1 mi away

7%24

Lindstrom1.8 mi away

7%23

Forest Lake12.4 mi away

7%23

St. Paul33.9 mi away

6%22

Blaine24.5 mi away

3%11

North Branch10.5 mi away

3%10

Plymouth40.7 mi away

3%9

Edina43.8 mi away

2%7

White Bear Lake24.7 mi away

2%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%190

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

How far

How far Center commutes

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

21%

20%

50%

21%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

50%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is balanced between jobs and homes

0.88jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

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

Jobs based in Center

308 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)94%

$1,250 a month or less34%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Center residents hold

349 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−50%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 614 → 308. 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.