Work & commute · Perham

Work & commute in Perham, MN

45% of Perham’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Detroit Lakes (8%), Gorman (6%) and New York Mills (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

45%

740 of 1,632 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

12 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 892 Perham residents head out of town to work, 740 work right here, and 3,607 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Perham.

892live here, work elsewhere

740live and work here

3,607work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Perham goes to work

Perham (in town)right here

45%740

Detroit Lakes19.2 mi away

8%124

Gorman5.5 mi away

6%101

New York Mills11.2 mi away

5%80

Wadena23.9 mi away

3%44

Willmar105.2 mi away

2%36

Fergus Falls32.2 mi away

2%28

Fargo, ND62 mi away

2%26

Ottertail11.6 mi away

1%20

Perham1.5 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%416

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

How far

How far Perham commutes

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

55%

21%

20%

55%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Perham is a job hub

2.66jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Perham are

4,347 jobs are based in Perham. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Perham’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Perham

4,347 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Perham residents hold

1,632 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)37%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+12%

Jobs based in Perham, 2013 → 2023: 3,872 → 4,347. 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.