Work & commute · Waseca

Work & commute in Waseca, MN

About one in 3 of Waseca’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Owatonna (15%), Mankato (7%) and Faribault (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

1,374 of 4,005 working residents

Typical commute

14 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 2,631 Waseca residents head out of town to work, 1,374 work right here, and 2,062 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waseca.

2,631live here, work elsewhere

1,374live and work here

2,062work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waseca goes to work

Waseca (in town)right here

34%1,374

Owatonna13.4 mi away

15%599

Mankato24.2 mi away

7%274

Faribault18.7 mi away

4%177

North Mankato27.5 mi away

2%95

Rochester51.1 mi away

2%76

Minneapolis62 mi away

2%74

Woodville2.9 mi away

1%60

St. Paul63.1 mi away

1%47

Janesville10.5 mi away

1%44

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%1,185

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

How far

How far Waseca commutes

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

39%

30%

11%

20%

39%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waseca is balanced between jobs and homes

0.86jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Waseca are

3,436 jobs are based in Waseca. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waseca’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Waseca

3,436 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Waseca residents hold

4,005 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−40%

Jobs based in Waseca, 2013 → 2023: 5,737 → 3,436. 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.