Photo: Skvader · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and earnings in Brooten, and the trip to work
Working residents average 24 minutes each way, where Minnesota has 23 and the U.S. 26. Only 4% stay in Brooten for work; outside it, Belgrade is the main destination (12%, 7 miles). For 12% of workers, the job is at home, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Brooten on a workday
On a workday 260 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 175 people come in from elsewhere.
About 570 people are in Brooten on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.69 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 places Brooten commutes to
Where Brooten clocks in
12% 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.
Goods, not services: 40% of the jobs in Brooten
187 jobs are based in Brooten.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brooten, 2013 → 2023: 186 → 187. 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 Brooten’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes to work from Brooten
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brooten workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 260 commuters (the 12% 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 Brooten
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Work in the towns next to Brooten
The biggest share goes to Crow Lake Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brooten workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooten | – | — | — | 24 min | $48,250 |
| Crow Lake Township | 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| North Fork Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Bangor Township | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Crow Lake Township, North Fork Township and Bangor Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brooten’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 Brooten: questions
What is the median household income in Brooten?
$48,250 (±$15,909) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brooten?
18.4%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brooten?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brooten work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Belgrade (12%, 7 mi), Crow River Township (8%, 9 mi), Paynesville (6%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Brooten without a car?
1% 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 Brooten, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brooten
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.