With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Alden Township works elsewhere
There are 14 jobs in Alden Township for 88 working residents. Hardly any stay in Alden Township for work; outside it, Albert Lea is the main destination (43%, 12 miles). Working residents average 17 minutes each way, next to 23 for Minnesota and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Alden Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 88 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 14 people come in from elsewhere.
About 210 people are in Alden Township on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Alden Township: the destinations
Where Alden Township clocks in
11% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Alden Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alden Township, 2014 → 2024: 13 → 14. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alden Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Alden Township takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alden Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 134 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Alden Township
About 27% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How Alden Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Alden (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Alden Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alden Township | – | — | — | 17 min | $74,286 |
| Conger | under 3% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Mansfield Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Carlston Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Pickerel Lake Township | under 3% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Alden | 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Foster Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Conger, Mansfield Township, Carlston Township, Pickerel Lake Township, Alden and Foster Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Alden Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Alden Township: questions
What is the median household income in Alden Township?
$74,286 (±$21,102) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alden Township?
12.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alden Township?
17 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alden Township work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albert Lea (43%, 12 mi), Rochester (11%, 62 mi), Austin (6%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Alden Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alden Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alden Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.