Work & commute · Wadena

Work & commute in Wadena, MN

About one in 3 of Wadena’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Perham (7%), New York Mills (6%) and Staples (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

38%

651 of 1,721 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 1,070 Wadena residents head out of town to work, 651 work right here, and 2,308 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wadena.

1,070live here, work elsewhere

651live and work here

2,308work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wadena goes to work

Wadena (in town)right here

38%651

Perham23.9 mi away

7%123

New York Mills12.7 mi away

6%111

Staples15.7 mi away

4%71

Brainerd44.7 mi away

2%42

Alexandria41.2 mi away

2%36

Wadena3.3 mi away

2%28

Gorman27.5 mi away

1%25

Willmar91.7 mi away

1%21

Detroit Lakes42.3 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%596

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

How far

How far Wadena commutes

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

41%

24%

14%

21%

41%Under 10 mi

24%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wadena is a job hub

1.72jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wadena are

2,959 jobs are based in Wadena. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wadena’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wadena

2,959 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Wadena residents hold

1,721 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−1%

Jobs based in Wadena, 2013 → 2023: 3,001 → 2,959. 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.