Work & commute · Dalton

Work & commute in Dalton, MN

Most working residents leave Dalton for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Fergus Falls (53%), Battle Lake (3%) and Breckenridge (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 106 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 103 Dalton residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dalton.

103live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

35work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dalton goes to work

Fergus Falls10.9 mi away

53%56

Dalton (in town)right here

3%3

Battle Lake12.1 mi away

3%3

Breckenridge32.6 mi away

3%3

Minnetonka146.6 mi away

3%3

Wahpeton, ND34 mi away

3%3

Alexandria33 mi away

2%2

Tumuli2.3 mi away

2%2

Fergus Falls14.2 mi away

2%2

Red Iron Lake, SD74.1 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%27

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

How far

How far Dalton commutes

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

13%

58%

13%

16%

13%Under 10 mi

58%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dalton is a commuter town

0.36jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Dalton are

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

Jobs based in Dalton

38 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less42%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Dalton residents hold

106 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+245%

Jobs based in Dalton, 2013 → 2023: 11 → 38. 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.