Work & commute · Owatonna

Work & commute in Owatonna, MN

56% of Owatonna’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Faribault (7%), Rochester (4%) and Waseca (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

56%

6,562 of 11,670 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 5,108 Owatonna residents head out of town to work, 6,562 work right here, and 8,580 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Owatonna.

5,108live here, work elsewhere

6,562live and work here

8,580work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Owatonna goes to work

Owatonna (in town)right here

56%6,562

Faribault14.5 mi away

7%798

Rochester37.9 mi away

4%492

Waseca13.4 mi away

2%201

Northfield25.3 mi away

1%156

Owatonna2.7 mi away

1%154

Austin31.7 mi away

1%143

Minneapolis60.2 mi away

1%133

Medford5.3 mi away

1%114

Mankato37.2 mi away

1%107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%2,810

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

How far

How far Owatonna commutes

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

60%

13%

12%

15%

60%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Owatonna is balanced between jobs and homes

1.30jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Owatonna are

15,142 jobs are based in Owatonna. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Owatonna’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Owatonna

15,142 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Owatonna residents hold

11,670 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month64%

−12%

Jobs based in Owatonna, 2013 → 2023: 17,268 → 15,142. 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.