Prospect House · Photo: SH5544 · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and earnings in Battle Lake, and the trip to work
For 4% of workers, the job is at home, against 18% across Minnesota. About one in seven stay in Battle Lake for work; outside it, Fergus Falls is the main destination (30%, 17 miles). The trip to work takes 20 minutes on average, 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
The work figures that set Battle Lake apart
30% of Battle Lake works in Fergus Falls
101 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Fergus Falls, 17 miles away. That’s twice as many as work in Battle Lake itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Battle Lake
60% of Battle Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Battle Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 87% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Few Battle Lake workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 337 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The places Battle Lake commutes to
Where Battle Lake clocks in
30% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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 services: health care, schools and offices
463 jobs are based in Battle Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Battle Lake, 2014 → 2024: 518 → 463. 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 Battle Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Battle Lake: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Battle Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 299 commuters (the 4% 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.
How a workday changes Battle Lake
On a workday 293 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 419 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Battle Lake on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Battle Lake
About 26% 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.
Around Battle Lake: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Battle Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Lake | – | — | — | 20 min | $59,375 |
| Everts Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Clitherall Township | 4% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Everts Township and Clitherall Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Clitherall Township. Darker towns draw more of Battle Lake’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 Battle Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Battle Lake?
$59,375 (±$12,254) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Battle Lake?
6.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Battle Lake?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Battle Lake work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fergus Falls (30%, 17 mi), Underwood (6%, 7 mi), Clitherall Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Battle Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Battle Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Battle Lake
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.