Work & commute · Watab

Work & commute in Watab, MN

Most working residents leave Watab for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are St. Cloud (33%), Sauk Rapids (8%) and Sartell (8%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

38 of 1,649 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 1,611 Watab residents head out of town to work, 38 work right here, and 491 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watab.

1,611live here, work elsewhere

38live and work here

491work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watab goes to work

St. Cloud11.2 mi away

33%540

Sauk Rapids6.6 mi away

8%137

Sartell5.3 mi away

8%131

Waite Park12.1 mi away

6%98

Rice5.8 mi away

5%89

Little Falls22.4 mi away

3%49

Watab (in town)right here

2%38

Minneapolis66.7 mi away

2%30

Minden7.5 mi away

2%30

St. Joseph10.6 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%485

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

How far

How far Watab commutes

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

45%

32%

18%

45%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watab is a commuter town

0.32jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Watab are

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

Jobs based in Watab

529 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)44%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)36%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Watab residents hold

1,649 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+19%

Jobs based in Watab, 2013 → 2023: 446 → 529. 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.