Work & commute · South Bend

Work & commute in South Bend, MN

Most working residents leave South Bend for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Mankato (35%), North Mankato (13%) and New Ulm (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41 of 778 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 737 South Bend residents head out of town to work, 41 work right here, and 1,354 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Bend.

737live here, work elsewhere

41live and work here

1,354work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South Bend goes to work

Mankato6.3 mi away

35%276

North Mankato3.9 mi away

13%102

New Ulm22 mi away

5%41

South Bend (in town)right here

5%41

Lake Crystal6.6 mi away

4%28

St. Peter14.5 mi away

3%27

Judson4.8 mi away

2%17

Minneapolis69.9 mi away

2%12

Eden Prairie58.2 mi away

1%11

Rochester80.7 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%214

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

How far

How far South Bend commutes

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

63%

12%

17%

63%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South Bend is a job hub

1.79jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in South Bend are

1,395 jobs are based in South Bend. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South Bend

1,395 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)50%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)29%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs South Bend residents hold

778 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+38%

Jobs based in South Bend, 2013 → 2023: 1,008 → 1,395. 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.