Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Deer River draws 660 commuters a day, with 1.9 jobs for every working resident
About one in five work in Deer River; the top destination outside it is Grand Rapids (18%, 14 miles). Deer River has 736 jobs; 378 of its residents have a job. For 2% 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
Getting to work from Deer River, in brief
Jobs in Deer River have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Deer River went from 316 in 2013 to 736 in 2023, +133%. The jobs ↓
Deer River is where the jobs are
Deer River has 736 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Deer River and Grand Rapids trade workers both ways
Grand Rapids is the top workplace for Deer River residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Deer River come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 378 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Jobs in Deer River: what the 736 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Deer River, 2013 → 2023: 316 → 736. 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 Deer River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Deer River: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 302 residents head out to work and 76 work right here.
About 1,300 people are in Deer River on a workday afternoon, 39% 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 Deer River: where workers come from
Where Deer River clocks in
18% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Getting to work from Deer River takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Deer River workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 317 commuters (the 2% 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 Deer River goes to work
About 29% 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 Deer River
The biggest share goes to Morse Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Deer River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer River | – | — | — | 24 min | $38,824 |
| Deer River Township | 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Morse Township | 4% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Zemple | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Deer River Township, Morse Township and Zemple: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Deer River’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 Deer River: questions
What is the median household income in Deer River?
$38,824 (±$3,529) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Deer River?
30.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Deer River?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Deer River work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (18%, 14 mi), Cohasset (4%, 9 mi), Cass Lake (4%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Deer River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Deer River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Deer River
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.