Work & commute · Spruce Valley

Work & commute in Spruce Valley, MN

Most working residents leave Spruce Valley for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Thief River Falls (44%), North (5%) and Grygla (4%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 108 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 106 Spruce Valley residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 72 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Spruce Valley.

106live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

72work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Spruce Valley goes to work

Thief River Falls20.3 mi away

44%47

North18.2 mi away

5%5

Grygla26.8 mi away

4%4

Fargo, ND110.6 mi away

4%4

Deer12.7 mi away

4%4

Roseau36 mi away

3%3

Warroad52.8 mi away

3%3

Karlstad19.2 mi away

2%2

Lancaster42.1 mi away

2%2

Grand Forks, ND53.4 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%32

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

How far

How far Spruce Valley commutes

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

58%

16%

21%

5%Under 10 mi

58%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Spruce Valley is a commuter town

0.69jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Spruce Valley are

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

Jobs based in Spruce Valley

74 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Spruce Valley residents hold

108 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+185%

Jobs based in Spruce Valley, 2013 → 2023: 26 → 74. 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.