Cook has 3.2 jobs for every working resident: 615 people commute in to work
645 jobs are based in Cook, against 199 working residents. About one in seven work in Cook; the top destination outside it is Virginia (24%, 23 miles). 6% of workers work from home; Minnesota has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Cook
On a workday 169 residents head out to work and 30 work right here.
About 960 people are in Cook on a workday afternoon, 87% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Cook: where workers come from
Where Cook clocks in
24% of workers
8% 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 kinds of work in Cook
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cook, 2013 → 2023: 629 → 645. 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 Cook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Cook: about 17 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cook workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 161 commuters (the 6% 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.
How far Cook goes to work
About 23% 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 Cook compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook | – | — | — | 17 min | $42,250 |
| Field Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Owens Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Field Township and Owens Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cook’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 Cook: questions
What is the median household income in Cook?
$42,250 (±$14,053) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cook?
11.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cook?
17 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cook work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Virginia (24%, 23 mi), Mountain Iron (8%, 21 mi), Duluth (8%, 78 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cook without a car?
2% 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 Cook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cook
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.