Making a living in Dunnell
The average commute takes 49 minutes each way; Minnesota averages 23, the U.S. 26. Home is the office for 6% of workers (Minnesota 18%). Only 2% stay in Dunnell for work; outside it, Fairmont is the main destination (33%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Dunnell
On a workday 56 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere.
About 120 people are in Dunnell on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.74 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 people from Dunnell work
Where Dunnell clocks in
33% 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.
83% of the jobs in Dunnell make or build things
42 jobs are based in Dunnell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dunnell, 2013 → 2023: 44 → 42. 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 Dunnell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Dunnell takes about 49 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 15.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dunnell workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 50 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 Dunnell’s workers travel
About 30% 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 Dunnell: questions
What is the median household income in Dunnell?
$31,786 (±$3,702) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dunnell?
1.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dunnell?
49 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dunnell work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fairmont (33%, 17 mi), Estherville (5%, 12 mi), Sherburn (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dunnell 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 Dunnell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dunnell
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.