Work & commute · Pelican Rapids

Work & commute in Pelican Rapids, MN

About one in 4 of Pelican Rapids’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Willmar (24%), Fergus Falls (8%) and Detroit Lakes (4%). Half commute less than 32 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

274 of 1,083 working residents

Typical commute

32 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 809 Pelican Rapids residents head out of town to work, 274 work right here, and 708 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pelican Rapids.

809live here, work elsewhere

274live and work here

708work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pelican Rapids goes to work

Pelican Rapids (in town)right here

25%274

Willmar111.7 mi away

24%259

Fergus Falls19.7 mi away

8%91

Detroit Lakes19.9 mi away

4%47

Fargo, ND40.7 mi away

3%30

Spring Prairie31.4 mi away

2%21

Perham24.2 mi away

2%18

Dunn9 mi away

1%15

Gorman24.4 mi away

1%14

Elbow Lake40.4 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%305

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

How far

How far Pelican Rapids commutes

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

28%

17%

10%

44%

28%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

44%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pelican Rapids is balanced between jobs and homes

0.91jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Pelican Rapids are

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

Jobs based in Pelican Rapids

982 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Pelican Rapids residents hold

1,083 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)40%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)42%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−42%

Jobs based in Pelican Rapids, 2013 → 2023: 1,687 → 982. 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.