Work & commute · Thomson

Work & commute in Thomson, MN

Most working residents leave Thomson for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Duluth (40%), Cloquet (15%) and Superior (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

190 of 2,563 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 2,373 Thomson residents head out of town to work, 190 work right here, and 431 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Thomson.

2,373live here, work elsewhere

190live and work here

431work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Thomson goes to work

Duluth11.5 mi away

40%1,018

Cloquet6.7 mi away

15%383

Thomson (in town)right here

7%190

Superior, WI13.3 mi away

5%130

Hermantown8 mi away

3%89

Carlton5.2 mi away

2%52

Minneapolis128.6 mi away

2%50

Midway4.4 mi away

1%37

Proctor6.6 mi away

1%31

Moose Lake26.3 mi away

1%26

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%557

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

How far

How far Thomson commutes

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

35%

44%

19%

35%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Thomson is a commuter town

0.24jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Thomson are

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

Jobs based in Thomson

621 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Thomson residents hold

2,563 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+17%

Jobs based in Thomson, 2013 → 2023: 530 → 621. 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.