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Work & commute in Wheeling · A commuter town

100% of Wheeling’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Wheeling for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Faribault (27%), Northfield (9%) and Owatonna (7%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Work in town
0%
1 of 271 working residents
Typical commute
17 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
28 min
More than MN (23 min)
Work from home
29%
More than MN (18%)
Jobs based here
36
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Wheeling?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

27% of working residents work in Faribault

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

GenevaMorristownDundas: 4 residents work here (1%)Le SueurNorthfield: 25 residents work here (9%)OakdaleApple ValleyFaribault: 73 residents work here (27%)Owatonna: 18 residents work here (7%)Mankato: 8 residents work here (3%)Bloomington: 6 residents work here (2%)Rochester: 9 residents work here (3%)Minneapolis: 9 residents work here (3%)GreenvaleNorthfieldHoldenWarsaw: 5 residents work here (2%)Cannon City: 5 residents work here (2%)RichlandWheelingFaribaultNorthfieldOwatonnaRochesterMinneapolisMankatoWheeling
1
Faribault8.9 mi away
27%73
2
Northfield9.5 mi away
9%25
3
Owatonna17.4 mi away
7%18
4
Rochester37.7 mi away
3%9
5
Minneapolis44.8 mi away
3%9
6
Mankato44.5 mi away
3%8
7
Bloomington36.3 mi away
2%6
8
Warsaw13.5 mi away
2%5
9
Cannon City5.3 mi away
2%5
10
Dundas8.6 mi away
1%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
40%109
The top trips

Where Wheeling clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Minnesota

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
215 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Wheeling28 min
Minnesota23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
29%

of Wheeling workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 3 in 10
Day and night

Wheeling quiets down on a workday

On a workday 270 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere.

270live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
35work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night530
Workday290
530live here− 270head out to work+ 35come in to work= 290on a workday

About 290 people are in Wheeling on a workday afternoon, 44% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.13jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Wheeling commutes less than 17 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi55 miFaribault: 27% · 8.9 miNorthfield: 9% · 9.5 miOwatonna: 7% · 17.4 miRochester: 3% · 37.7 miMinneapolis: 3% · 44.8 miMankato: 3% · 44.5 miBloomington: 2% · 36.3 miWarsaw: 2% · 13.5 miCannon City: 2% · 5.3 miDundas: 1% · 8.6 miFaribault 27%Northfield 9%Owatonna 7%Rochester 3%Minneapolis 3%Wheeling
WheelingTop destinations (size = commuters)
30%Under 10 mi81 residents
29%10–24 mi78 residents
35%25–50 mi95 residents
6%Over 50 mi17 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Wheeling makes things: 53% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in WheelingJobs Wheeling residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms53%23%
Trade, transport & utilities6%18%
Services: health, schools, offices42%59%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less36%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month28%20%
Over $3,333 a month36%67%

Who does it

29 or younger44%24%
30 to 5439%46%
55 and older17%30%
−33%

Jobs based in Wheeling, 2013 → 2023: 54 → 36. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Next door

Wheeling and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Cannon City (2%). Darker towns draw more of Wheeling’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Wheeling

Wheeling home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Wheeling, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Wheeling worth it?

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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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