Wilkin County Courthouse · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Breckenridge (6.8%) than in 81% of U.S. towns
For 8% of workers, the job is at home, where Minnesota as a whole has 18%. Breckenridge grades D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Breckenridge is behind 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Breckenridge
Many Breckenridge workers cross into North Dakota
57% of Breckenridge workers work outside Minnesota, most of them in North Dakota, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Breckenridge live in another state
Wahpeton, ND (19%), Fargo, ND (2%) and Center Township, ND (1%) are among the top places Breckenridge’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 22% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Breckenridge trades workers with the towns around it
Breckenridge has about as many jobs (1,290) as working residents (1,479), but they are mostly different people: 1,149 residents leave for work each day while 960 people come in. Only 26% of the jobs in Breckenridge are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Breckenridge and Wahpeton trade workers both ways
Wahpeton is the top workplace for Breckenridge residents (30%) and also where the most people who work in Breckenridge come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Breckenridge residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Breckenridge’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Breckenridge is better than 10% of U.S. towns, #269 of 273 in Minnesota. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Breckenridge’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Breckenridge could be anywhere from D− to C+.
30% of working residents work in Wahpeton
Where Breckenridge clocks in
30% of workers
6% of workers
3% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Breckenridge
On a workday 1,149 residents head out to work, 330 work right here, and 960 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 (0.87 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.
Miles to work from Breckenridge
About 17% 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.
Jobs in Breckenridge: what the 1,290 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Breckenridge, 2013 → 2023: 1,559 → 1,290. 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 Breckenridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes to work from Breckenridge
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Breckenridge workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,386 commuters (the 8% 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.
Most trips from Breckenridge start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Breckenridge is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #134 of 273 in Minnesota. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.7% across Minnesota, on an EPA index of 7.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,502 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.1% of Breckenridge households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Breckenridge’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Breckenridge is 4,114th of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 18 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | Erwinville LA | 2,420 | $52K | 53.1% | 33.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,113 | St. Anthony ID | 3,990 | $53K | 18.0% | 6.3% | 16% | D |
| 4,114 | Breckenridge MN | 3,323 | $59K | 22.2% | 6.8% | 22% | D |
| 4,115 | Portageville MO | 2,702 | $52K | 17.5% | 6.0% | 25% | D |
| 4,116 | St. James MO | 3,925 | $53K | 19.4% | 7.5% | 20% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Breckenridge, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Work next door: 33% of Breckenridge’s workers
The biggest share goes to Wahpeton (30%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Breckenridge workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breckenridge | – | D | B+ | 20 min | $58,963 |
| Breckenridge Township | under 1% | — | — | 13 min | — |
| Connelly Township | under 1% | — | — | 8 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Breckenridge Township and Connelly Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Breckenridge’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 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 Breckenridge: questions
What is the median household income in Breckenridge?
$58,963 (±$8,657) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Breckenridge?
22.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Breckenridge?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Breckenridge work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wahpeton (30%, 1 mi), Dwight Township (6%, 7 mi), Fargo (3%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Breckenridge walkable?
Breckenridge is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Breckenridge without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Breckenridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Breckenridge
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.