Work & commute · Sanford

Work & commute in Sanford, MN

Most working residents leave Sanford for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Elbow Lake (19%), Fergus Falls (19%) and Ashby (11%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 47 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 47 Sanford residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 39 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sanford.

47live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

39work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sanford goes to work

Elbow Lake1.6 mi away

19%9

Fergus Falls22.2 mi away

19%9

Ashby10.5 mi away

11%5

Alexandria28.5 mi away

6%3

Erdahl6.3 mi away

4%2

Brandon17.2 mi away

2%1

Carlos31.7 mi away

2%1

Hoffman12.5 mi away

2%1

Deephaven137.8 mi away

2%1

Morris27 mi away

2%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%14

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

How far

How far Sanford commutes

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

26%

34%

19%

21%

26%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sanford is balanced between jobs and homes

0.83jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Sanford are

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

Jobs based in Sanford

39 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities69%

Services (health, schools, offices…)3%

$1,250 a month or less0%

$1,251–$3,333 a month8%

Over $3,333 a month92%

Jobs Sanford residents hold

47 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+95%

Jobs based in Sanford, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 39. 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.