Work & commute · Wolf Lake

Work & commute in Wolf Lake, MN

Most working residents leave Wolf Lake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Park Rapids (30%), Detroit Lakes (8%) and Menahga (8%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 106 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

36 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 105 Wolf Lake residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wolf Lake.

105live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

25work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wolf Lake goes to work

Park Rapids15 mi away

30%32

Detroit Lakes23.1 mi away

8%9

Menahga14.1 mi away

8%8

Osage8.6 mi away

5%5

Perham20.3 mi away

4%4

Todd13.4 mi away

4%4

Fargo, ND69.3 mi away

3%3

Straight River11.9 mi away

3%3

Little Canada167.3 mi away

2%2

Alexandria67.5 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%34

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

How far

How far Wolf Lake commutes

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

10%

61%

23%

10%Under 10 mi

61%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wolf Lake is a commuter town

0.25jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wolf Lake are

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

Jobs based in Wolf Lake

26 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)73%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less35%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Wolf Lake residents hold

106 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−7%

Jobs based in Wolf Lake, 2013 → 2023: 28 → 26. 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.