Work means Austin for about half of Brownsdale’s working residents
Working residents average 26 minutes each way; Minnesota averages 23, the U.S. 26. 8% of workers have no commute at all, against 18% across Minnesota. Hardly any work in Brownsdale; the top destination outside it is Austin (45%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Brownsdale
Nearly half of Brownsdale works in Austin
130 working residents, 45%, have their main job in Austin, 7.2 miles away. That’s far more as work in Brownsdale itself. The commute map ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Brownsdale’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 26 minutes, longer than the Minnesota average of 23. 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 291 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Brownsdale: the destinations
Where Brownsdale clocks in
45% of workers
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.
Time on the road from Brownsdale: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brownsdale workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 389 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.
Who commutes out of Brownsdale, and who commutes in
On a workday 290 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 94 people come in from elsewhere.
About 450 people are in Brownsdale on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.33 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 2024, primary jobs.
Brownsdale works in goods: 39% of its jobs
95 jobs are based in Brownsdale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brownsdale, 2014 → 2024: 25 → 95. 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 Brownsdale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Brownsdale
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 2024.
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 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 Brownsdale: questions
What is the median household income in Brownsdale?
$77,614 (±$31,272) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brownsdale?
6.4%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brownsdale?
26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brownsdale work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (45%, 7 mi), Rochester (12%, 27 mi), Albert Lea (5%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Brownsdale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brownsdale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brownsdale
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.