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Work & commute · Ely

Work & commute in Ely, MN

45% of Ely’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Morse (7%), Virginia (6%) and Tower (6%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
45%
516 of 1,143 working residents
Typical commute
4 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
14 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
6%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 627 Ely residents head out of town to work, 516 work right here, and 781 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ely.

627live here, work elsewhere
516live and work here
781work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Ely goes to work

WintonElyTowerEvelethBiwabikVirginiaMinnetonkaDuluthBabbittMinneapolisFall LakeWhiteMorseMorseVirginiaTowerDuluthBiwabikMinnetonkaBabbittFall LakeMinneapolisEly
1
Ely (in town)right here
45%516
2
Morse7 mi away
7%82
3
Virginia40.4 mi away
6%67
4
Tower20.5 mi away
6%63
5
Duluth79.2 mi away
5%58
6
Biwabik33.9 mi away
2%20
7
Minnetonka219.2 mi away
1%15
8
Babbitt18.4 mi away
1%15
9
Fall Lake21 mi away
1%15
10
Minneapolis214.1 mi away
1%14
Everywhere elseother towns and states
24%278

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

How far

How far Ely commutes

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

53%Under 10 mi
9%10–24 mi
12%25–50 mi
27%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Ely is balanced between jobs and homes

1.13jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ely are

1,297 jobs are based in Ely. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ely’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ely

1,297 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)8%
Trade, transport & utilities16%
Services (health, schools, offices…)76%
$1,250 a month or less23%
$1,251–$3,333 a month32%
Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Ely residents hold

1,143 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)12%
Trade, transport & utilities17%
Services (health, schools, offices…)71%
$1,250 a month or less22%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%
Over $3,333 a month45%
−12%

Jobs based in Ely, 2013 → 2023: 1,471 → 1,297. 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Ely, MNView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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