Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Fountain

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Fountain

Work means Rochester for about two in five of Fountain’s working residents

Employers in Fountain report 128 jobs, and 201 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in Fountain itself; outside it, Rochester draws the most (44%, 25 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 27 minutes, next to 23 for Minnesota and 26 for the U.S.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out

What sets Fountain apart on work

★ What stands out · The commute map

The places Fountain commutes to

WykoffFountainHarmony: 2 residents work here (1%)LanesboroRushford: 2 residents work here (1%)EyotaPreston: 5 residents work here (2%)Chatfield: 30 residents work here (15%)Spring Valley: 8 residents work here (4%)Stewartville: 4 residents work here (2%)St. CharlesWinona: 5 residents work here (2%)Rochester: 88 residents work here (44%)Marion Township: 3 residents work here (1%)Chatfield TownshipRochesterChatfieldSpring ValleyPrestonWinonaStewartvilleFountain
1
Rochester25.4 mi away
44%88
2
Chatfield7.4 mi away
15%30
3
Spring Valley13.3 mi away
4%8
4
Preston5.5 mi away
2%5
5
Winona31.5 mi away
2%5
6
Fountain (in town)right here
2%4
7
Stewartville19.5 mi away
2%4
8
Marion Township19.8 mi away
1%3
9
Harmony14.5 mi away
1%2
10
Rushford19.6 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
25%50
The top trips

Where Fountain clocks in

Lines 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.

Day and night

How many people are in Fountain by day

On a workday 197 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 124 people come in from elsewhere.

197live here, work elsewhere
4live and work here
124work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night400
Workday330
400live here− 200head out to work+ 120come in to work= 330on a workday

About 330 people are in Fountain on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.64jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.64 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.

The jobs

Fountain makes things: 55% of its jobs are in goods

Jobs based in FountainJobs Fountain residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms55%18%
Trade, transport & utilities17%19%
Services: health, schools, offices27%62%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less20%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month20%20%
Over $3,333 a month59%67%

Who does it

29 or younger23%22%
30 to 5441%57%
55 and older36%21%
−19%

Jobs based in Fountain, 2013 → 2023: 159 → 128. 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 Fountain’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 27 minutes to work from Fountain

A year of commuting
210 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Fountain27 min
Minnesota23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
12%

of Fountain workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Fountain gets to work
86%Drive alone
12%Carpool
1%Walk

Share of the 257 commuters (the 12% 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

Half of Fountain commutes less than 25 miles

10 mi25 mi40 miRochester: 44% · 25.4 miChatfield: 15% · 7.4 miSpring Valley: 4% · 13.3 miPreston: 2% · 5.5 miWinona: 2% · 31.5 miStewartville: 2% · 19.5 miMarion Township: 1% · 19.8 miHarmony: 1% · 14.5 miRushford: 1% · 19.6 miRochester 44%Chatfield 15%Preston 2%Winona 2%Fountain
FountainTop destinations (size = commuters)
23%Under 10 mi47 residents
22%10–24 mi44 residents
44%25–50 mi89 residents
10%Over 50 mi21 residents

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 to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Fountain: questions

What is the median household income in Fountain?

$78,750 (±$23,537) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Fountain?

6.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Fountain?

27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Fountain work?

2% work in town.

Can you get around Fountain without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Fountain, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Fountain

Fountain home →

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.