Work & commute · Northern

Work & commute in Northern, MN

Most working residents leave Northern for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Bemidji (58%), Red Lake (3%) and Little Rock (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

51 of 1,785 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 1,734 Northern residents head out of town to work, 51 work right here, and 548 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Northern.

1,734live here, work elsewhere

51live and work here

548work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Northern goes to work

Bemidji4.4 mi away

58%1,034

Northern (in town)right here

3%51

Red Lake23.4 mi away

3%48

Little Rock24.8 mi away

2%30

Bagley25.7 mi away

2%28

Cass Lake16.5 mi away

2%27

Bemidji7.3 mi away

1%24

Minneapolis193.9 mi away

1%21

Fargo, ND104.1 mi away

1%20

Pike Bay17.1 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%485

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

How far

How far Northern commutes

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

64%

12%

20%

64%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Northern is a commuter town

0.34jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Northern are

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

Jobs based in Northern

599 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Northern residents hold

1,785 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+72%

Jobs based in Northern, 2013 → 2023: 348 → 599. 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.