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Work & commute in Round Lake · A commuter town

99% of Round Lake’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Round Lake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Detroit Lakes (30%), Fargo (11%) and Mahnomen (9%). Half commute less than 29 miles.

Work in town
1%
1 of 74 working residents
Typical commute
29 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
28 min
More than MN (23 min)
Work from home
13%
Less than MN (18%)
Jobs based here
49
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Round Lake?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

30% of working residents work in Detroit Lakes

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Quincy: 1 residents work here (1%)Fisher: 1 residents work here (1%)Mahnomen: 7 residents work here (9%)FrazeeOgema: 2 residents work here (3%)Perham: 2 residents work here (3%)Crookston: 2 residents work here (3%)Detroit Lakes: 22 residents work here (30%)Moorhead: 3 residents work here (4%)Fargo: 8 residents work here (11%)White EarthForestErieSilver LeafRound LakeSugar BushRichwood: 3 residents work here (4%)Pine PointLa PrairieCallawayHenriettaEagle ViewShell LakeDetroit LakesFargoMahnomenMoorheadRichwoodOgemaRound Lake
1
Detroit Lakes25 mi away
30%22
2
Fargo, ND65.5 mi away
11%8
3
Mahnomen29 mi away
9%7
4
Moorhead61.6 mi away
4%3
5
Richwood21.3 mi away
4%3
6
Ogema21.1 mi away
3%2
7
Perham32.4 mi away
3%2
8
Crookston72.3 mi away
3%2
9
Quincy, FL1278.8 mi away
1%1
10
Fisher80.2 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
31%23
The top trips

Where Round Lake clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Minnesota

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
213 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Round Lake28 min
Minnesota23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
13%

of Round Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Day and night

Round Lake quiets down on a workday

On a workday 73 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.

73live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
48work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night190
Workday170
190live here− 73head out to work+ 48come in to work= 170on a workday

About 170 people are in Round Lake on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.66jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Round Lake commutes less than 29 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miDetroit Lakes: 30% · 25 miFargo: 11% · 65.5 miMahnomen: 9% · 29 miMoorhead: 4% · 61.6 miRichwood: 4% · 21.3 miOgema: 3% · 21.1 miPerham: 3% · 32.4 miCrookston: 3% · 72.3 miQuincy: 1% · 1278.8 miFisher: 1% · 80.2 miDetroit Lakes 30%Fargo 11%Mahnomen 9%Richwood 4%Round Lake
Round LakeTop destinations (size = commuters)
1%Under 10 mi1 residents
27%10–24 mi20 residents
27%25–50 mi20 residents
44%Over 50 mi32 residents

About 44% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in Round LakeJobs Round Lake residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%15%
Trade, transport & utilities6%30%
Services: health, schools, offices94%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less18%28%
$1,251–$3,333 a month27%26%
Over $3,333 a month55%46%

Who does it

29 or younger27%28%
30 to 5437%32%
55 and older37%39%
+123%

Jobs based in Round Lake, 2013 → 2023: 22 → 49. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Next door

Round Lake and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Round Lake’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Round Lake

Round Lake home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Round Lake, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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