Work & commute · Leaf Lake

Work & commute in Leaf Lake, MN

Most working residents leave Leaf Lake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Perham (18%), Ottertail (10%) and Fergus Falls (9%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 280 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 276 Leaf Lake residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Leaf Lake.

276live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

22work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Leaf Lake goes to work

Perham14 mi away

18%50

Ottertail5 mi away

10%27

Fergus Falls30.2 mi away

9%25

New York Mills8.8 mi away

7%20

Wadena16.5 mi away

6%16

Detroit Lakes32.7 mi away

5%14

Fargo, ND71.7 mi away

5%13

Henning6.2 mi away

4%11

Battle Lake14.7 mi away

2%6

Alexandria37.2 mi away

2%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%92

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

How far

How far Leaf Lake commutes

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

23%

31%

21%

25%

23%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Leaf Lake is a commuter town

0.09jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Leaf Lake are

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

Jobs based in Leaf Lake

26 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)88%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)12%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Leaf Lake residents hold

280 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month65%

+100%

Jobs based in Leaf Lake, 2013 → 2023: 13 → 26. 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.