Work & commute · Fergus Falls

Work & commute in Fergus Falls, MN

62% of Fergus Falls’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Fargo (3%), Wahpeton (1%) and Detroit Lakes (1%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

62%

3,559 of 5,724 working residents

Typical commute

2 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 2,165 Fergus Falls residents head out of town to work, 3,559 work right here, and 5,311 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fergus Falls.

2,165live here, work elsewhere

3,559live and work here

5,311work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fergus Falls goes to work

Fergus Falls (in town)right here

62%3,559

Fargo, ND53.7 mi away

3%174

Wahpeton, ND25.6 mi away

1%67

Detroit Lakes37.7 mi away

1%65

Alexandria43.8 mi away

1%62

Fergus Falls3.5 mi away

1%61

Willmar94.2 mi away

1%59

Aurdal6.3 mi away

1%59

Minneapolis163.5 mi away

1%52

Pelican Rapids19.7 mi away

1%43

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%1,523

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

How far

How far Fergus Falls commutes

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

66%

22%

66%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fergus Falls is a job hub

1.55jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Fergus Falls are

8,870 jobs are based in Fergus Falls. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fergus Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fergus Falls

8,870 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Fergus Falls residents hold

5,724 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−3%

Jobs based in Fergus Falls, 2013 → 2023: 9,159 → 8,870. 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.