Photo: Heritage Preservation Department - MNHS · CC BY 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Browns Valley, MN
The average commute takes 14 minutes each way, where Minnesota has 23 and the U.S. 26. 29% of workers have no commute at all (Minnesota 18%). About one in five stay in Browns Valley for work; outside it, Wheaton is the main destination (10%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Browns Valley
On a workday 156 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 138 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 (0.91 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.
Where Browns Valley goes to work
Where Browns Valley clocks in
10% 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.
What Browns Valley’s employers do
175 jobs are based in Browns Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Browns Valley, 2013 → 2023: 185 → 175. 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 Browns Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Browns Valley takes about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Browns Valley workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 122 commuters (the 29% 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.
The commute from Browns Valley, by distance
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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How Browns Valley compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Browns Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns Valley | – | — | — | 14 min | $49,250 |
| Folsom Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Browns Valley Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Folsom Township and Browns Valley Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Browns Valley’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 Browns Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Browns Valley?
$49,250 (±$8,581) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Browns Valley?
19.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Browns Valley?
14 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Browns Valley work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wheaton (10%, 22 mi), Sisseton (10%, 11 mi), Fargo (6%, 88 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Browns Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Browns Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Browns Valley
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.