Work & commute · Preston

Work & commute in Preston, MN

Most working residents leave Preston for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Rochester (26%), Harmony (5%) and Chatfield (5%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

87 of 545 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 458 Preston residents head out of town to work, 87 work right here, and 717 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Preston.

458live here, work elsewhere

87live and work here

717work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Preston goes to work

Rochester30.8 mi away

26%141

Preston (in town)right here

16%87

Harmony9 mi away

5%27

Chatfield12.9 mi away

5%27

Spring Valley15.4 mi away

3%15

La Crosse, WI44.1 mi away

2%13

Lanesboro6.3 mi away

2%11

Winona33.3 mi away

2%10

Preston4.1 mi away

2%9

Carrolton4.9 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%197

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

How far

How far Preston commutes

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

32%

18%

37%

14%

32%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

37%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Preston is balanced between jobs and homes

1.48jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Preston are

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

Jobs based in Preston

804 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Preston residents hold

545 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

−10%

Jobs based in Preston, 2013 → 2023: 898 → 804. 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.