Work & commute · Willow River

Work & commute in Willow River, MN

Most working residents leave Willow River for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Moose Lake (16%), Duluth (5%) and Sandstone (4%). Half commute less than 32 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13 of 192 working residents

Typical commute

32 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

36 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 179 Willow River residents head out of town to work, 13 work right here, and 173 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Willow River.

179live here, work elsewhere

13live and work here

173work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Willow River goes to work

Moose Lake9.3 mi away

16%31

Willow River (in town)right here

7%13

Duluth45.4 mi away

5%10

Sandstone13.6 mi away

4%7

Finlayson9.2 mi away

3%6

Cloquet31.8 mi away

3%6

Hinckley21.8 mi away

3%5

Superior, WI43.8 mi away

3%5

Windemere5.6 mi away

3%5

Askov9.6 mi away

2%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%100

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

How far

How far Willow River commutes

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

34%

14%

19%

34%

34%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

34%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Willow River is balanced between jobs and homes

0.97jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.97 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Willow River are

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

Jobs based in Willow River

186 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Willow River residents hold

192 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−2%

Jobs based in Willow River, 2013 → 2023: 189 → 186. 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.