Work & commute · Lake Valley

Work & commute in Lake Valley, MN

Most working residents leave Lake Valley for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Wheaton (30%), Minneapolis (5%) and Fargo (5%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

9 of 81 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 72 Lake Valley residents head out of town to work, 9 work right here, and 86 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lake Valley.

72live here, work elsewhere

9live and work here

86work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lake Valley goes to work

Wheaton1.3 mi away

30%24

Lake Valley (in town)right here

11%9

Minneapolis168 mi away

5%4

Fargo, ND75.3 mi away

5%4

Monson6.3 mi away

4%3

Morris33.1 mi away

2%2

Alexandria55.4 mi away

2%2

Wahpeton, ND33.2 mi away

2%2

Summit, ND25.1 mi away

2%2

Browns Valley20.5 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%28

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

How far

How far Lake Valley commutes

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

44%

20%

28%

44%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lake Valley is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lake Valley are

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

Jobs based in Lake Valley

95 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities75%

Services (health, schools, offices…)11%

$1,250 a month or less4%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month77%

Jobs Lake Valley residents hold

81 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+116%

Jobs based in Lake Valley, 2013 → 2023: 44 → 95. 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.