Work & commute · Dawson

Work & commute in Dawson, MN

About one in 3 of Dawson’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Montevideo (12%), Madison (5%) and Marshall (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

171 of 590 working residents

Typical commute

17 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 419 Dawson residents head out of town to work, 171 work right here, and 568 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dawson.

419live here, work elsewhere

171live and work here

568work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dawson goes to work

Dawson (in town)right here

29%171

Montevideo16.4 mi away

12%72

Madison9 mi away

5%28

Marshall35.6 mi away

3%18

Riverside1.6 mi away

3%15

Camp Release11.8 mi away

2%14

Willmar50.2 mi away

2%12

Sparta17.9 mi away

2%10

Minneapolis136.1 mi away

2%9

Brookings, SD56.4 mi away

2%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%232

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

How far

How far Dawson commutes

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

41%

21%

28%

41%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dawson is balanced between jobs and homes

1.25jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Dawson are

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

Jobs based in Dawson

739 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Dawson residents hold

590 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−13%

Jobs based in Dawson, 2013 → 2023: 845 → 739. 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.