For more than half of its working residents, Dalton is a commute to Fergus Falls
8% of workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. Only 3% stay in Dalton for work; outside it, Fergus Falls is the main destination (53%, 11 miles). Working residents average 21 minutes each way, where Minnesota has 23 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Dalton on a workday
On a workday 103 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere.
About 150 people are in Dalton on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.36 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.
Where the trip to work from Dalton ends
Where Dalton clocks in
53% 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 Dalton’s employers do
38 jobs are based in Dalton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dalton, 2013 → 2023: 11 → 38. 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 Dalton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Dalton’s commute takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dalton workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 125 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Dalton
About 16% 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.
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 Dalton: questions
What is the median household income in Dalton?
$68,659 (±$2,602) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dalton?
6.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dalton?
21 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dalton work?
3% work in town.
Can you get around Dalton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dalton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dalton
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.