Work & commute · Sparta

Work & commute in Sparta, MN

Most working residents leave Sparta for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Montevideo (33%), Granite Falls (11%) and Willmar (5%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25 of 353 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 328 Sparta residents head out of town to work, 25 work right here, and 426 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sparta.

328live here, work elsewhere

25live and work here

426work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sparta goes to work

Montevideo1.6 mi away

33%115

Granite Falls11.6 mi away

11%38

Sparta (in town)right here

7%25

Willmar33 mi away

5%19

Marshall34.3 mi away

3%10

Clara City15.6 mi away

2%8

Leenthrop7 mi away

2%8

Minneapolis118.2 mi away

2%6

Olivia35.6 mi away

1%5

Mankato99.6 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%115

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

How far

How far Sparta commutes

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

47%

17%

14%

22%

47%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sparta is balanced between jobs and homes

1.28jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Sparta are

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

Jobs based in Sparta

451 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)55%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Sparta residents hold

353 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+20%

Jobs based in Sparta, 2013 → 2023: 377 → 451. 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.