Work & commute · Elgin

Work & commute in Elgin, MN

Most working residents leave Elgin for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Rochester (38%), Lake City (9%) and Plainview (7%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21 of 684 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 663 Elgin residents head out of town to work, 21 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elgin.

663live here, work elsewhere

21live and work here

125work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elgin goes to work

Rochester13.7 mi away

38%262

Lake City21.9 mi away

9%62

Plainview4.9 mi away

7%47

Elgin2.1 mi away

4%24

Elgin (in town)right here

3%21

Wabasha19.7 mi away

2%16

Red Wing35.7 mi away

2%12

Pine Island19.1 mi away

1%8

Minneapolis76.2 mi away

1%8

Plainview6.1 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%216

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

How far

How far Elgin commutes

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

17%

61%

14%

17%Under 10 mi

61%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elgin is a commuter town

0.21jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Elgin are

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

Jobs based in Elgin

146 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less29%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Elgin residents hold

684 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month68%

−4%

Jobs based in Elgin, 2013 → 2023: 152 → 146. 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.