Jobs, income and commuting in Bellingham, MN
A typical one-way commute lasts 15 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. Only 2% work in Bellingham; the top destination outside it is Madison (12%, 10 miles). 51 jobs are based in Bellingham; 60 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Bellingham, and who commutes in
On a workday 59 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 50 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Bellingham’s residents
Where Bellingham clocks in
12% 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.
What Bellingham’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bellingham, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 51. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bellingham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Bellingham: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bellingham workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 49 commuters (the 17% 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 Bellingham
About 32% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, 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 Bellingham: questions
What is the median household income in Bellingham?
$46,786 (±$7,384) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bellingham?
7.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bellingham?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bellingham work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Madison (12%, 10 mi), Canby (8%, 29 mi), Dawson (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Bellingham without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bellingham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bellingham
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.