Photo: Lorie Shaull · CC BY-SA 4.0Esko has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 337 jobs in Esko, and 983 of its residents work somewhere. Only 4% stay in Esko for work; outside it, Duluth is the main destination (39%, 12 miles). Commuters spend 16 minutes getting to work on average, 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
Where Esko stands out on work
39% of Esko works in Duluth
384 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Duluth, 12 miles away. That’s 10 times as many as work in Esko itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Esko
68% of Esko residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Esko pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Esko are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
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 983 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where the trip to work from Esko ends
Where Esko clocks in
39% 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 Esko
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Esko, 2013 → 2023: 212 → 337. 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 Esko’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Esko’s commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Esko workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 808 commuters (the 15% 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 Esko, and who commutes in
On a workday 939 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 293 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Esko on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer 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.
Esko’s commute, mile by mile
About 19% 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 Esko: questions
What is the median household income in Esko?
$109,063 (±$27,625) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Esko?
3.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Esko?
16 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Esko work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Duluth (39%, 12 mi), Cloquet (16%, 6 mi), Thomson Township (8%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Esko 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 Esko, from the people who make the trip.
More of Esko
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.