Sign inJoin
Work & commute in New Sweden · A commuter town

100% of New Sweden’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave New Sweden for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are St. Peter (25%), Mankato (22%) and North Mankato (14%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 122 working residents
Typical commute
17 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
23 min
Less than MN (23 min)
Work from home
9%
Less than MN (18%)
Jobs based here
44
A commuter town

What kind of work town is New Sweden?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

25% of working residents work in St. Peter

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

St. ClairNicollet: 3 residents work here (2%)LakefieldLe Sueur: 2 residents work here (2%)St. Peter: 31 residents work here (25%)North Mankato: 17 residents work here (14%)New Ulm: 4 residents work here (3%)Mankato: 27 residents work here (22%)St. Cloud: 3 residents work here (2%)St. Paul: 4 residents work here (3%)GranbyLake Prairie: 2 residents work here (2%)New SwedenSibleyBernadotteOshawaKasota: 4 residents work here (3%)St. PeterMankatoNorth MankatoNew UlmSt. PaulKasotaNew Sweden
1
St. Peter13 mi away
25%31
2
Mankato20.3 mi away
22%27
3
North Mankato18 mi away
14%17
4
New Ulm15.1 mi away
3%4
5
St. Paul65.2 mi away
3%4
6
Kasota15.3 mi away
3%4
7
Nicollet9.8 mi away
2%3
8
St. Cloud76.7 mi away
2%3
9
Le Sueur15.2 mi away
2%2
10
Lake Prairie7.8 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
20%25
The top trips

Where New Sweden clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

New Sweden quiets down on a workday

On a workday 122 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 44 people come in from elsewhere.

122live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
44work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night280
Workday210
280live here− 120head out to work+ 44come in to work= 210on a workday

About 210 people are in New Sweden on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.36jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of New Sweden commutes less than 17 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miSt. Peter: 25% · 13 miMankato: 22% · 20.3 miNorth Mankato: 14% · 18 miNew Ulm: 3% · 15.1 miSt. Paul: 3% · 65.2 miKasota: 3% · 15.3 miNicollet: 2% · 9.8 miSt. Cloud: 2% · 76.7 miLe Sueur: 2% · 15.2 miLake Prairie: 2% · 7.8 miSt. Peter 25%Mankato 22%North Mankato 14%New Ulm 3%St. Paul 3%New Sweden
New SwedenTop destinations (size = commuters)
2%Under 10 mi3 residents
77%10–24 mi94 residents
6%25–50 mi7 residents
15%Over 50 mi18 residents

About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

New Sweden makes things: 73% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in New SwedenJobs New Sweden residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms73%21%
Trade, transport & utilities11%20%
Services: health, schools, offices16%58%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less30%20%
$1,251–$3,333 a month20%20%
Over $3,333 a month50%61%

Who does it

29 or younger39%21%
30 to 5427%52%
55 and older34%27%
−73%

Jobs based in New Sweden, 2013 → 2023: 165 → 44. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 23 minutes each way, about the MN average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
173 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

New Sweden23 min
Minnesota23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
9%

of New Sweden workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Next door

New Sweden and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Lake Prairie (2%). Darker towns draw more of New Sweden’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of New Sweden

New Sweden home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from New Sweden, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from New Sweden worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

Post to New Sweden

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in