TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
Otter TailGood afternoon
Work & commute · Otter Tail

Work & commute in Otter Tail, MN

Most working residents leave Otter Tail for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Perham (20%), Fergus Falls (11%) and Ottertail (9%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
1%
3 of 265 working residents
Typical commute
20 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
29 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
16%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 262 Otter Tail residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Otter Tail.

262live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
48work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Otter Tail goes to work

New York MillsHenningPerhamDeer CreekOttertailWadenaFergus FallsAlexandriaMoorheadFargoGormanGirardDeer CreekAmorRush LakeLeaf LakeNewtonOtter TailPerhamFergus FallsOttertailNew York MillsHenningWadenaFargoDeer CreekGormanAlexandriaOtter Tail
1
Perham13.3 mi away
20%52
2
Fergus Falls24.4 mi away
11%30
3
Ottertail2 mi away
9%24
4
New York Mills13.2 mi away
5%13
5
Henning9.5 mi away
4%11
6
Wadena22.6 mi away
4%11
7
Fargo, ND66.4 mi away
3%7
8
Deer Creek13.2 mi away
2%6
9
Gorman18.7 mi away
2%6
10
Alexandria38.2 mi away
2%5
Everywhere elseother towns and states
38%100

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

How far

How far Otter Tail commutes

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

19%Under 10 mi
44%10–24 mi
16%25–50 mi
21%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Otter Tail is a commuter town

0.19jobs per working resident
A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Otter Tail are

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

Jobs based in Otter Tail

51 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)12%
Trade, transport & utilities6%
Services (health, schools, offices…)82%
$1,250 a month or less59%
$1,251–$3,333 a month24%
Over $3,333 a month18%

Jobs Otter Tail residents hold

265 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)27%
Trade, transport & utilities22%
Services (health, schools, offices…)51%
$1,250 a month or less20%
$1,251–$3,333 a month23%
Over $3,333 a month57%
+13%

Jobs based in Otter Tail, 2013 → 2023: 45 → 51. 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Otter Tail, MNOtter Tail CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Otter Tail is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map